Though times for passengers (and pilots) at Madeira Airport last week! Due to strong wind gusts of up to 75 kilometres (45 miles) per hour, airlines were forced to cancel flights. On Sunday the cancellations affected around 5,500 passengers. Six flights were diverted to the neighbouring island of Porto Santo and passengers made their way by boat to Madeira island.
The airport is considered one of the most peculiarly perilous airports in the world due to its location and its spectacular runway construction. The History Channel programme “Most Extreme Airports” ranked it as the ninth most dangerous airport in the world, and the third most dangerous in Europe.
Sidenote: in 2016 the airport has been renamed to Madeira Airport – Cristiano Ronaldo in honour of Madeira native football player Cristiano Ronaldo.
