Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport Aeroporto Internacional da Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Vinci Group | ||||||||||
| Operator | ANA Aeroportos de Portugal | ||||||||||
| Serves | Madeira, Portugal | ||||||||||
| Location | Santa Cruz | ||||||||||
| Opened | 7 July 1964 | ||||||||||
| Focus city for | TAP Air Portugal | ||||||||||
| Operating base for | Ryanair[1] | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 58 m / 190 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 32°41′39″N 16°46′41″W / 32.69417°N 16.77806°W | ||||||||||
| Website | aeroportomadeira.pt | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  FNC/LPMA Location in Portugal | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
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Source: VINCI Airports[1], Press release, VINCI Airports – 2023 traffic levels, Nanterre, 16 January 2023. | |||||||||||
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Madeira Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto da Madeira) (IATA: FNC, ICAO: LPMA), informally Funchal Airport (Aeroporto do Funchal), formerly Santa Catarina Airport (Aeroporto de Santa Catarina) and officially Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, is an international airport in the civil parish of Santa Cruz in the Portuguese archipelago and autonomous region of Madeira. The airport is located 13.2 km (8.2 mi) east-northeast of the regional capital, Funchal, 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, considered 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.[2]
The airport is considered one of the most peculiarly perilous airports in the world[3] due to its location and its spectacular runway construction. It received the Outstanding Structure Award in 2004 by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.[4][5][6][7] 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.[8] Pilots must undergo additional training to land at the airport.[9]
- ^ "Ryanair To Open New Base At Madeira Airport". ryanair.com. 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Words really can't describe the bizarre bust of Cristiano Ronaldo at his namesake airport in Portugal". Los Angeles Times. 29 March 2017.
- ^ "The world's scariest airport landings: videos". The Telegraph. 18 June 2016.
- ^ "Funchal Airport Extension, Madeira Island, Portugal". Iabse.org. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014.
- ^ "OStrA". Iabse.org. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "The Outstanding Structure Award". Iabse.ethz.ch. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012.
- ^ "Outstanding Structure Award". Ordemengenheiros.pt.
- ^ The Most Extreme Airports (video). The History Channel. 26 August 2010.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Madeira Special Approach Familiarization (Traditional Classroom & Simulator) - FlightSafety International". elearning.flightsafety.com. Retrieved 15 June 2018.