Refund system can now combine separately bought mainland and Madeira tickets

The resident-fare refund platform can now link airline tickets purchased separately for journeys between the Azores, mainland Portugal and Madeira. The feature became operational on Thursday, according to information confirmed to RTP Antena 1 Açores by Carlos Morais.

The change covers cases in which a journey was split into two separate purchases. Until now, those situations could prevent the system from treating both segments as one trip for refund purposes.

The refund amount has also been set for cases where residents had paid twice as much because the tickets could not be linked. The measure is intended to address an issue reported since the new Territorial Continuity Mechanism rules took effect.

Three months after the law began to apply, the issue affecting travel agencies remains unresolved. For Azores residents who rely on air connections for study, work, healthcare or family travel outside the archipelago, a functioning refund process remains important to lowering the real cost of travel.