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Madeira Airport ( pt, Aeroporto da Madeira, ), informally Funchal Airport (), formally Santa Catarina Airport () and officially Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, is an
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer r ...
in the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of Santa Cruz in the Portuguese archipelago and autonomous region of
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
. The airport is located east-northeast of the regional capital,
Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its hig ...
, after which it is sometimes informally named. It mostly hosts flights to European metropolitan destinations due to Madeira's importance as a leisure destination, and is pivotal in the movement of cargo in and out of the archipelago of Madeira. It is the fourth-busiest airport in Portugal. The airport is named after Madeiran native
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time. During its renaming ceremony in 2017, the airport drew media notoriety for an infamous bust of Ronaldo unveiled at the ceremony, now replaced. The airport is considered one of the most peculiarly perilous airports in the world due to its location and its spectacular runway construction. It received the ''
Outstanding Structure Award The Outstanding Structure Award is an award presented by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering to the Engineer, Architect, Contractor, and the Owner in recognition of ''the most remarkable, innovative, creative or othe ...
'' in 2004 by the
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) is a non-profit organisation with mission to promote the exchange of knowledge and to advance the practice of structural engineering worldwide in the service of the profess ...
. The
History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
program ''Most Extreme Airports'' ranked it as the ninth most dangerous airport in the world and the third most dangerous in Europe. Pilots must undergo additional training to land at the airport.


Geography

Madeira Airport is a geographically unusual airport, as it is perched on a foreland jutting out to sea. At the end of runway 05, there lie hills and cliffs which make a direct ILS approach and landing unavailable. Instead aircraft have to do a visual approach which involves flying around the airport, then circling around in a ~180° turn before lining up on a very short final approach. The airport's runway - 05/23 - is a
tabletop runway A tabletop runway is a runway that is located on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends adjacent to a steep precipice which drops into a deep gorge. This type of runway creates an optical illusion of being at the same level as the ...
, which means there are steep dropoffs at either end of the runway - at the beginning of Runway 05, the runway drops off just before a motorway that snakes around the runway end, and at the beginning of Runway 23, which drops off a cliff. The runway is also unique in the fact that at the beginning of Runway 23, the runway is placed on a platform supported by pillars, similar to a
beam bridge Beam bridges are the simplest structural forms for bridge spans supported by an abutment or pier at each end. No moments are transferred throughout the support, hence their structural type is known as '' simply supported''. The simplest beam ...
.


History

Madeira Airport was officially opened on 7 July 1964, with two runways. The first flight to land there was a
TAP Air Portugal TAP Air Portugal is the currently state-owned flag carrier airline of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and oper ...
Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its press ...
with 80 passengers on board. In 1972, the popularity of visiting the island of Madeira increased, so the runway was extended to allow modern and larger aircraft to land. Considered the
Kai Tak Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...
of Europe because of its singular approach to runway 05, the decision was made to extend the existing runway instead of building a new one. The runway was extended to , with the extension inaugurated on 1 February 1986 by then president of the
Portuguese Republic Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the ...
António Ramalho Eanes António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes, GColL GCL GColTE CavA GCB RVC (; born 25 January 1935) is a Portuguese general and politician who was the 16th president of Portugal from 1976 to 1986. Background Born at Alcains, Castelo Branco, he i ...
. In the meantime, a new terminal was built at the airport in 1973, handling 500,000 passengers. However, as demand for tourism continued to grow, the runway was extended further. The newly extended runway—now long—and terminal were inaugurated on 6 October 2002, and to mark the occasion, an
Air Atlanta Icelandic Air Atlanta Icelandic is a charter and ACMI airline based in Kópavogur, Iceland. It specialises in leasing aircraft on an ACMI (Aircraft, Crews, Maintenance, Insurance) and wet lease basis to airlines worldwide needing extra passenger and ...
Boeing 747-200 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
, registration TF-ABA, landed at the airport. Although this was a rare event, some TAP Air Portugal flights on the Lisbon-Caracas-Lisbon route used to have scheduled stops at Madeira with
Airbus A330-200 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
widebody aircraft.


Name change

In 2016, it was announced that the airport would be renamed Madeira International Airport Cristiano Ronaldo (Aeroporto Internacional da Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo) in honour of Madeira native football player
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
. The rebranded terminal was unveiled on 29 March 2017, with a
bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...
of Ronaldo also being presented. Neither the bust nor the name change were unanimous, actually far from a consensus, as the former was ridiculed by ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
s character Cecilia Giminez, portrayed by comedian and actress
Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (2012–2022), of which she was a cas ...
, with the latter being subject to much debate and controversy locally by politicians and citizens, who even started a petition against the move. A year later, sports web site
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in ...
commissioned sculptor Emanuel Santos to create another bust. However, this bust was never used; instead a new one was made by a Spanish sculptor, shown to the public on 15 June 2018.


Facilities


Runway

The airport was once infamous for its short runway of only , which, surrounded by high mountains and the ocean, made it a difficult and technically demanding landing for even the most experienced pilots. Because of the ~150° right-hand turn required, the airport has acquired the nickname of "
Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...
of Europe" - a reference to the former airport of Hong Kong that also needed a right-hand turn to line up for a landing very low and close to the runway. Between 1982 and 1986, a few years after the
TAP Air Portugal Flight 425 TAP Flight 425 was a regular flight from Brussels, Belgium, to Santa Catarina Airport (informally known as Funchal Airport or Madeira Airport; now the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport), Portugal, with an intermediate scheduled stop in Lis ...
crash of 1977, Madeira's runway was extended by to a total of , and four gates were opened. In 2000, the runway was again extended, this time to . As
landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the wast ...
was not a realistic option, the extension was built on a platform, partly over the ocean, supported by 180 columns, each about tall. The runway extension was conducted by the Brazilian construction company
Andrade Gutierrez Andrade Gutierrez is a Brazilian private multinational conglomerate headquartered in Belo Horizonte. The company was founded in 1948 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais by the Andrade and Gutierrez families. As of 2013, Andrade Gutierrez is the seco ...
and is recognized worldwide as one of the most difficult to achieve due to the type of terrain and
orography Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discip ...
. Its innovative solution allowed Funchal to receive the ''
Outstanding Structure Award The Outstanding Structure Award is an award presented by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering to the Engineer, Architect, Contractor, and the Owner in recognition of ''the most remarkable, innovative, creative or othe ...
'' in 2004 by the
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) is a non-profit organisation with mission to promote the exchange of knowledge and to advance the practice of structural engineering worldwide in the service of the profess ...
, which aims at recognizing the most remarkable, innovative, creative, or otherwise stimulating structure completed within the last few years.


Terminal

The airport has a single terminal, which opened in 1973. The terminal has 40 check-in desks, 16 boarding gates, and 7 baggage belts. There are no air-bridges, so passengers either walk the short distance to the terminal or are taken by shuttle bus. The terminal itself is mostly underground.


Modernisation

In 2016, Madeira Airport was modernised and renovated by its operator,
ANA Aeroportos de Portugal ANA Aeroportos de Portugal is the airport authority of Portugal. The authority manages various airports including Portugal's largest airport, Lisbon Airport. The authority has its head office in Building 120 on the grounds of the airport. Histor ...
, as part of an €11 million investment. The renovated terminal area, which was opened in June 2016, by the President of the Autonomous Regional Government of Madeira,
Miguel Albuquerque Miguel Filipe Machado de Albuquerque (born 4 May 1961) is a Portugal, Portuguese politician of the Social Democratic Party (Portugal), Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the current Presidents of the Regional Government of Madeira, President of the ...
, improved the existing facility and facilitated the creation of a brand new shopping area, doubling the airport's overall capacity. According to VINCI Airports, the airport will "have the capacity to deal with up to 1,400 passengers per hour", and the airport's overall new layout has been designed to enable to accommodation of new stores for national and international brands alike. The passenger screening area, under the command of Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras, increased from 7,000 sq ft (650 m²) to 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m²), accommodating an increase in the number of security screening lines, while the passenger holding and verification area increased from 300 m² to 650 m². The new layout has simplified the passenger experience, creating defined areas for the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...
(which the
Autonomous Region of Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
is part of) and non–Schengen Area passengers, and given the airport operator the ability to alternate these areas based on flight schedules. A new transfer hall and three new departure gates were also created as part of the project. The renovation and investment project also accommodated the strengthening and re-profiling of the runway and taxiways, increasing the usable area by more than 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2).


Airlines and destinations


Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled passenger flights at Madeira Airport:


Cargo


Statistics


Accidents and incidents

* On 5 March 1973, an
Aviaco Aviación y Comercio, S.A., doing business as Aviaco, was a Spanish airline headquartered in the ''Edificio Minister'' in Madrid."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. 16 May 1981. p1411 "Maudes 51, Edificio Minister, Madrid 3, Spai ...
Sud Caravelle The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for ...
10R (registration EC-BID) crashed into the sea during the landing approach, resulting in the loss of the aircraft and three crew. * On 19 November 1977,
TAP Air Portugal Flight 425 TAP Flight 425 was a regular flight from Brussels, Belgium, to Santa Catarina Airport (informally known as Funchal Airport or Madeira Airport; now the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport), Portugal, with an intermediate scheduled stop in Lis ...
, a
Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
(registration CS-TBR), was traveling from Brussels to Madeira via Lisbon. After a
go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an unsta ...
, the aircraft attempted to land in poor weather conditions. It landed long on runway 24 (now runway 23) and plunged over a steep bank. It then struck a stone bridge, and the right wing was torn off, and then it crashed hard onto a beach. A fire broke out, setting the aircraft alight. Out of the 164 on board, 131 lost their lives. * On 18 December 1977, SA de Transport Aérien Flight 730, a
Sud Caravelle The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for ...
10R (registration HB-ICK), was cleared for approach on runway 06 (now runway 05), but descended below , causing the aircraft to crash into the sea. 36 people died of the 57 on board. *On 11 September 2003 a
Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general avi ...
aircraft carrying a UK pilot and nine Spanish passengers crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from the airport. All occupants died.


References


External links

* * {{authority control 1964 establishments in Portugal Airports established in 1964 Airports in Portugal Buildings and structures in Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo Transport in Madeira