Aviation in the Azores an era that was tumultuous, the democratic politicians debated a proposal in Portuguese National Assembly to regionalize the provision of services to the Azores and Madeira. Following these events, the increasingly autonomous governments of the Azores, between 1981 and 1983, built several airports to provide expanded service to the remaining islands. In addition to improvements at Horta Airport, the government of the Azores finalized construction of: Since the 1940s, the Portuguese flag carrier Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (today's TAP Portugal) operated regular flights to the Azores through the gateways in Ponta Delgada, Lajes and Vila do Porto. Meanwhile, a group of
History of the Azores appears on most of these same maps, with their modern names: "legname" (Ligurian for "wood", Madeira), "porto sancto" (Porto Santo), "desertas" (Desertas) and "salvazes" (Savage Island). The source of this information is a mystery. It could simply be derived from pure legend, possibly of Andalusian Arab origin e.g. al-Idrisi speaks of an Atlantic island of wild goats (the Caprera?) and another of "cormorants", a scavenger bird (the "sea crows" of Corvis Marinis?) But outside their erroneous axial tilt, the Azores do seem clustered with reasonable accuracy. From this cartographic record, there seems little doubt that both Madeira and the Azores