Madeira’s Funchal Cristiano Ronaldo Airport (FNC) has encountered a notable level of delays and cancellations over the past 72 hours due to strong winds. Whilst the airport is notorious for such winds, their persistent strength and continuity since August 17 have made conditions at Funchal notably challenging. Some passengers have been reportedly been unable to leave the airport for several days, putting extra pressure on the stretched airport’s infrastructure. In addition to the winds, wildfires have presented yet another challenge to the area. Let’s take a look at the data.
Cancellations
Madeira’s airport saw a total of 59 cancellations between August 17-20. 40 departing flights and 19 arriving flights have been canceled so far, representing 19% and 12% of arriving and departing traffic respectively. For context, only around 3% of total flights to and from the airport have been canceled so far in 2024.
The airline most affected has been Tap Air Portugal (TP), who have canceled a total of 19 flights since August 17. Also notably affected have been Ryanair (FR), easyJet (U2) and Binter Canarias (NT).
Diversions
We tracked a total of 24 diverted flights inbound to Funchal between August 17-18. Ryanair aircraft diverted most frequently, a total of 6 diversions.
Where do those aircraft divert to?
We tracked diversions to 8 airports between August 17-18. The most common diversion airport was Lisbon Airport (LIS), which received a total of 6 diverted flights. Lisbon was the most common diversion destination for Ryanair and easyJet, followed closely by Tenerife South Airport (TFS). Other diversion airports include Fuerteventura (FUE), Arrecife (ACE) and Barcelona (BCN), which was the most distant diversion airport at a distance of 1039 nautical miles.
Flights operated by carriers such as Binter Canarias tend to choose Arrecife (ACE), Gran Canaria (LPA) or to simply return to their point of origin.
Madeira is well known for having an exciting approach, particularly when on runway 05, as the airport is located beneath large cliffs that often create turbulence from Atlantic winds and suffers from downdrafts and wind shear. As such, Madeira is one of our top 10 flight tracking hotspots.
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Cover photo: Piotrek Lipinski, JetPhotos.
