In March 2024, there was a movement of 414.5 thousand passengers at RAM airports, transported on 2,779 aircraft (commercial flights), translating year-on-year variations of +5.7% and -0.5%, respectively “, highlights the Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM), which today publishes information from ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal.
The same trend occurs in the first three months of 2024, in which “variations in aircraft and passenger movements were -4.6% and +2.1%, respectively”, notes DREM. “It is also worth noting that there may be a calendar effect in these data, as while Easter, in 2023, took place in April, in 2024, it was celebrated in March”, he highlights.
Therefore, it is noteworthy that in the third month of this year, “each aircraft (considering those that landed and took off together) transported, on average, around 155 passengers (146 in March 2023), at Madeira Airport, while in Porto Santo, that figure reached almost 72 passengers (59 in the same month)”, reinforces the perception of greater demand.
That month, “the movement of domestic and international passengers at RAM airports registered positive year-on-year variations in international traffic (+3.1%) and in the domestic segment (+8.8%)”, which attests to the fact that Easter has was in March and not in April, reflecting the travel of Madeirans (students and others), but also other Portuguese on vacation during that period.
“At Madeira airport, international traffic (52.6% of the total) predominated compared to domestic traffic (47.4% of the total). At Porto Santo Airport there was a prevalence of domestic traffic (58.6% of the total), but with less disproportion compared to February 2024”, he highlights. “In this reference month, regular flights at RAM airports represented 91.4% of the total number of aircraft handled and 93.6% of passengers (93.9% and 95.5% in the same period last year, respectively)”.
In the quarter, from January to March 2024, “passengers embarked and disembarked (i.e., excluding those in transit) at RAM airports amounted” to around 1,066,900, “a half corresponding to traffic exclusively between airports located in national territory, which includes internal and domestic connections (47.9% of the total as a whole) and international connections (52.1%). Within the scope of the latter, the United Kingdom was the main country of origin and destination for passengers. international flights from RAM airports (31.1%), followed by Germany (20.9%) and France (5.0%)”, figures that also give an idea of the markets that will ‘feed’ tourism, both in terms of overnight stays and consumption in the Region.