Harsh windsThe History Channel's Most Extreme Airports dubbed it the world's ninth most dangerous airport, and the third most dangerous in Europe. In fact, crews have to take on extra training to land there.
It is a busy airport but often with not enough staff to deal with huge numbers and if you chose to leave it till the last minute, you could also get held up on the motorway and miss your flight.
Madeira Airport (IATA: FNC) is located 16 kilometers northeast of the capital Funchal, just further the touristic city of Santa Catarina. Built on piles and perched on the high cliffs and mountains of the eastern coast of the island, the airport features only one terminal with 16 boarding gates and 40 check-in desks.
Madeira is stuck out in the Atlantic Ocean and the airport is tucked between mountain and sea. On top of that the runway at Funchal's special construction, with columns raising it off the ground, can create additional turbulent air. Downdrafts and wind shear are not uncommon on short final.
The airport's mountainous setting in the Atlantic sees it witness plenty of strong winds and mountain waves. The weather on the day can be unpredictable due to the battling conditions, and pilots are often forced to divert to the Canary Islands if the situation is too risky.
Madeira Airport is a geographically unusual airport, as it is perched on a foreland jutting out to sea. At the end of runway 05, there lie hills and cliffs which make a direct ILS approach and landing unavailable.
Make sure you're sitting on the right hand side of the airplane, as you'll get a great view of the island as you turn. Even as a dangerous airport it only had 3 accidents in over 30 years of operation - aborted landings are the more common outcome.
Being built on the side of a cliff, it was once known as “one of the worlds most dangerous” due to the short length of the Runway and shear drop at the end of it! It's still a Captain only take off and landing, requiring special training and a qualification to operate into the airport.
What Time of Day Has the Most Turbulence? It might be surprising to learn that turbulence is actually worse in the daytime. In the early morning and night time, wind speeds typically reduce, and thunderstorms clear up.
“The smoothest place to sit is over the wings,” commercial pilot Patrick Smith, host of AskThePilot.com said. These seats are close to the plane's center of lift and gravity. “The roughest spot is usually the far aft. In the rearmost rows, closest to the tail, the knocking and swaying is more pronounced,” Smith added.
The steep journey is approximately 3,200 metres long, climbing up a height of 560 metres. The line's speed can be regulated up to 5.0 m/s, which means the trip can be made in 11 minutes. Normally, however, the journey takes 15 minutes. Funchal Cable Car also uses the safest running and operational methods.