Eight arrivals and ten departures, plus several diverted flights.
By 8 pm this Thursday, 18 flights had been confirmed canceled at Madeira International Airport – Cristiano Ronaldo, corresponding to eight arrivals and ten departures, in addition to several flights diverted to Porto Santo, Faro and the Canary Islands, due to adverse weather conditions.
Of the cancellations, eight flights, including arrivals and departures, were domestic connections between Madeira and Lisbon, including six round trips operated by TAP and the rest by easyJet. The two arrivals—and subsequent departures—of flights operated by Marabu, originating from Germany, were also cancelled, with the aircraft diverted to Faro.
There were also cancellations of the arrival and departure of a Condor flight, also from Germany and diverted to Porto Santo, as well as the arrival and departure of a Transavia France flight originating in France.
The departures of two planes that arrived significantly late after being diverted were also cancelled: a Eurowings flight to Germany and a Jet2 flight to the United Kingdom.
Only from mid-afternoon onwards, with the wind dying down, were several of the planes that had diverted — namely to Porto Santo and the Canary Islands — able to land on the Santa Cruz runway.