Maderia airport used to be known for having the most terrifying approach by air as it had a narrow and short runway. Indeed in the 1970s there was a problem with a TAP Portugal flight which tried to arrive there. Thankfully all that has changed now and the airport is an excellent facility as befitting the amount of international traffic which it receives. The new runway has been extended by about 200 metres making the take off and landing process much easier.
All in all about two hundred and fifty million Euros were invested into the airport in what turned out to be an extremely ambitious construction project for the island. Now more than three and a half million passengers are able to use Maderia airport on an annual basis. Most of them are attracted to the excellent weather, beautiful coastline and low prices. TAP Portugal is still one of the main carriers at Madeira airport along with TUIfly, Easyjet, Thomsonfly and Air Berlin.
There are also a whole bunch of low cost airlines which have entered the market at Maderia airport. Some of the main destinations it serves are Amsterdam Madrid, Lisbon, London and Copenhagen. Madeira airport is actually about 1,000 miles away from the Portuguese capital. Maderia airport is also known as Funchal airport as Funchal is the capital city of the Portuguese island of Madeira. Previously the airport was also known as Santa Catarina airport. It has been around since the 1960s, getting gradually renovated over the years.