The maximum gust detected by the Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA) station installed at Madeira Airport is 66 km/h, recorded precisely in the space of time in which the two planes divert.
The wind that is felt in Santa Cruz has already ‘pushed’ two planes to the Canary Islands. Due to the wind, the TUI aircraft (X3 2852) from Dusseldorf and another flight operated by Transavia (TO 7690) arriving from Paris diverted and headed towards two islands of the Spanish archipelago.
Both planes were supposed to have landed at Madeira International Airport at 9 am. The pilot of the German company (TUI Fly) was the most persistent, choosing to fly around for a while in the hope of an ‘open’ – which ended up not happening. Already the commander of the French company (Transavia) took the decision to depart for the Canaries much more quickly.