Madeira Airport

Madeira Airport Aeroporto da Madeira
IATA: FNC – ICAO: LPMA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Aeroportos da Madeira
Serves	Funchal
Location	Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz
Elevation AMSL	58 m / 190 ft
Coordinates	32°41′39″N 16°46′41″W / 32.69417°N 16.77806°W / 32.69417; -16.77806Coordinates: 32°41′39″N 16°46′41″W / 32.69417°N 16.77806°W / 32.69417; -16.77806
Website	ana.pt
Map
LPMA Location in Portugal
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 2,781 9,124 Asphalt
Statistics (2011 / 2014)
Aircraft movements 21,346 Passengers 2,459,793[1][2]
Source: Portuguese AIP

Madeira Airport (IATA: FNC, ICAO: LPMA), formerly known as Santa Catarina Airport and informally known as Funchal Airport, is an international airport in the civil parish of Santa Catarina, municipality of Santa Cruz, in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira.

The airport was once infamous for its short runway which, surrounded by high mountains and the ocean, made it a tricky landing for even the most experienced of pilots. Its innovative solution allowed Funchal to receive the Outstanding Structure Award in 2004 by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering,^[3] which aims at recognizing the most remarkable, innovative, creative or otherwise stimulating structure completed within the last few years.^[4] Nevertheless it is still considered one of the most dangerous airports in the world.^[5]

History

Madeira Airport was officially opened on 18 July 1964, with two 1,600 m (5,249 ft) runways. The first flight ever to land was a TAP Air Portugal Lockheed Constellation with 80 passengers on board.

In 1972, the popularity of visiting the island of Madeira increased, so the runway had to be extended to allow modern and larger aircraft to land. Considered the Kai Tak of Europe because of its singular approach to runway 05,^[6] the decision was made to extend the existing runway, instead of building a new one. In the meantime, a brand new terminal was built at the airport in 1973, handling 500,000 passengers.

Between 1982 and 1986, Madeira's runway was successfully extended by 200 m (656 ft) to a total of 1,800 m (5,906 ft), and also four gates were opened. The original runway was only 1,600 m (5,249 ft) long, but was extended by 200 m (656 ft) 8 years after the TAP Portugal Flight 425 crash of 1977.

In 2000, the runway was again extended this time to 2,781 m (9,124 ft) almost doubling the size of the original runway. As landfill was not a realistic option, the extension was built on a platform, partly over the ocean, supported by 180 columns, each about 70 m (230 ft) tall. The extension of Madeira Airport was conducted by the Brazilian construction company Andrade Gutierrez, and is recognized worldwide as one of the most difficult to achieve due to the type of terrain and orography.

The new runway and terminal were inaugurated on 6 October 2002, and to mark the occasion an Air-Atlantic Iceland Boeing 747-267B, registration TF-ABA, landed at the airport.^[7] Although this was a rare event, some TAP Portugal flights make scheduled stops at Madeira with wide bodied A330-200 aircraft, on the Lisbon-Caracas-Lisbon route.

In 2004, Dr. Manabu Ito, President of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), presented the IABSE Outstanding Structure Award in Shanghai: the enlargement of the new runway at Funchal Airport, won the 2004 Outstanding Structure Award (considered the Oscars of worldwide structural engineering),^[8] by the IABSE.^[9]

The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports ranked it as the 9th most dangerous airport in the world, and the second most dangerous in Europe after Gibraltar International Airport.^[10]

Madeira Airport Runway

Geography

Funchal Airport is 13.2 km (8.2 mi) east-northeast of the regional capital Funchal. The airport controls national and international air traffic for the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo.

Terminal

View of the airport from Machico

Partial view of the airport's main building

Main check-in desks hall

Airport tower

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.

Airlines and destinations

Busiest routes

Incidents and accidents

SA de Transport Aérien Sud Caravelle 10R (HB-ICK) taking off from Geneva (two-years before its accident at Funchal)

• On 5 March 1973, an Aviaco Sud Caravelle 10R (Registration EC-BID) crashed into the sea during approach, losing the aircraft and three crew.^[22]
• On 19 November 1977, TAP Portugal Flight TP425, a Boeing 727-200 (Registration CS-TBR) was traveling from Brussels to Madeira via Lisbon. After a go-around, 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 crashed hard onto a beach. A fire then broke out, setting the aircraft alight. Out of the 164 on board, 131 lost their lives.^[23]
• On 18 December 1977, SA de Transport Aérien Flight 730, a Sud Caravelle 10R (registration HB-ICK) was cleared for approach on runway 06 (now runway 05), but descended below 720 ft (220 m) causing the aircraft to crash into the sea. 36 people died out of the 57 on board.^[24]

References

External links

Media related to Madeira Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Accident history for FNC at Aviation Safety Network

Airports in Portugal Major international Faro Lisbon-Portela Porto Minor international Beja Lajes Field Ponta Delgada Madeira Porto Santo Domestic Flores Horta Pico Santa Maria