Only four planes managed to land on Sunday at Madeira Airport, whose movement was conditioned due to the strong wind that is registered on the island and which has already led to the cancellation of more than 50 connections, according to ANA.
According to information available on the ANA website — Aeroportos de Portugal, the first flight to land in Madeira on Sunday, at 16:45, was from Hannover. Shortly after, at 17:01, another TuiFly aircraft landed from Munich and, at 18:46, a flight from Dusseldorf operated by the same company. The three aircraft then managed to take off for the same German cities between 18:00 and 19:49. In the evening, at 22:49, a TAP flight from Porto landed. The aircraft then left Madeira airport at 23:51, again bound for the mainland.
On the ANA website it is possible to verify that more than 25 landings by different companies operating to Madeira, coming from different destinations, were canceled on Sunday, as well as the corresponding scheduled takeoffs. Two Ryanair flights, one from British Airways and one from TuiFly, diverged to other airports.
On Sunday, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) issued a statement warning of “an episode of hot and dry weather in the archipelago” of Madeira, with expected maximum temperatures that can reach 35 degrees Celsius on the south coast. “Warm weather warnings will be in effect from Sunday the 25th, with a maximum Orange level on the 26th and 27th [Monday and Tuesday], and the episode is expected to persist at least until Thursday the 29th”, reads in the IPMA communiqué.
Also on Sunday, the captaincy of Funchal extended the “strong wind” warning until 18:00 today, issued due to forecasts for the coastline of Madeira.
Also according to the IPMA, this “period will also be marked by an intensification of the wind, especially in high areas” and by very low relative humidity values that may increase the risk of fire. “Additionally, in the same period there may be the transport of dust in suspension to the Madeira archipelago due to the persistent flow from the east”, is added in the note.