We learned this by accident and could not use this method. But it is used by all residents and knowledgeable tourists who fly to the Azores.
Under the rules of the air transportation model on routes from Mainland Portugal – Azores and Azores – Madeira, SATA Air Açores is required to provide a routing service, free of charge, for passengers residing in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, including equivalent residents, and students traveling within the Azores, to or from mainland Portugal or the Autonomous Region of Madeira, intending to use any gateway in the Azores.
Read also: 8 must-visit places on Terceira island
How it works?
If you fly to the Azores from mainland Portugal or Madeira, then having arrived on the first Azores island (most flights arrive at Ponta Delgada), you can fly to any other Azore island for free.
There is one condition – you can spend no more than 24 hours on the first island. Thus, for the price of one flight, you can visit 2 islands at once.
In the same way, you can fly back and forth.
However, there are 2 rules:
- First, to use this method, you need to book tickets through a specific site (use this link);
- Secondly, only certain categories of citizens can use this method: students, residents and equivalent.
Resident passengers are citizens with fiscal address in the Autonomous Region of the Azores who meet the following requirements on the date of the trip:
a) Citizens of Portuguese or other European Union Member State nationality or of any other State with which Portugal or the European Union has agreed upon the free movement of persons and who have resided for at least six months in the Autonomous Region of the Azores;
b) Family members of European Union citizens who have acquired the right of permanent residence in Portuguese territory and who have been residing in the Autonomous Region of the Azores for at least six months;
c) Citizens with the nationality of any state with which Portugal has signed an agreement regarding the general status of equality of rights and duties between Portuguese citizens and third countries, and who have been residing in the Autonomous Region of the Azores for at least six months.
Equivalent resident passengers:
a) The members of the Azores Regional Government or citizens who exercise public functions at the service of the Azores Regional Government, even if they have been residing in the Azores Autonomous Region for less than six months;
b) Civilian or military Public Administration employees, when on assignment, internal mobility, public interest assignment or under other mobility institutes established by law, in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, even if they have lived there for less than six months;
c) Workers who are nationals of or from any other member state of the European Union, the European Economic Area, or any other country with which Portugal or the European Union has agreed upon the free movement of persons, or regarding the general status of equal rights and duties, who are bound by a work contract, even if for less than a year, concluded with an employer with its head office or establishment in the Azores Autonomous Region and under which the place of work is in the Autonomous Region.
Student passengers are citizens who, at the time of the trip, are 26 years of age or younger, and are in one of the following situations:
a) Effective attendance of any level of official education or equivalent in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, including post-graduate courses, completion of master’s degrees or doctorates, in public, private or cooperative institutions, with final residence on the mainland, in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, in another Member State of the European Union or in any State with which Portugal or the European Union has an agreement regarding the circulation of persons; or
b) Effective attendance of any level of official education or equivalent in the mainland, in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, in another European Union Member State or in any State with which Portugal or the European Union has an agreement regarding the circulation of people, including post-graduate courses, master’s degrees or doctorates, in public, private or cooperative institutions, with final residence in the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
You can find more detailed info on THIS WEBSITE
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