Santa Cruz, Madeira Island, Portugal, Dec. 12, 2025 (Lusa) - Bad weather conditions are currently affecting traffic at Madeira International Airport - Cristiano Ronaldo, a situation that has led to the cancellation of dozens of flights and is affecting thousands of passengers on Friday.
According to information available on the official website of airports managing company, ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal, no planes have been able to land on the island since 8 a.m., with two having to divert.
By 5:00 pm, around three dozen arrivals had already been cancelled.
The adverse weather conditions, strong winds and rain, sometimes hail, also affected aircraft departures, with only three planes taking off at 4:17 a.m., 6:00 a.m. and 2:06 p.m. bound for Lisbon (TAP), Shannon (Ryanair) and Gran Canaria (Binter), respectively, today.
On its website, ANA had already warned passengers of weather forecasts pointing to "adverse conditions that may affect operations (departures and arrivals) from 10th to 13th December".
The Madeira archipelago is being affected by the Emilia depression, with strong winds, snowfall and rain, which may be heavy at times.
Portugal's national meteorological institute (IPMA) has issued an orange warning (the second most serious) for today due to the wind on the north coast of the island, with gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour expected.
The warning is active until at least 6 p.m., after which it will be downgraded to yellow.
As for rough seas, the IPMA has issued the most serious warning (red) from 9:00 pm today until 6:00 pm on Saturday.
The Funchal city council has also announced the implementation of preventive safety measures, closing access to the sea and the Ecological Park following the weather warnings issued by the IPMA.
The local authority pointed out that access to the sea along the coastline has been closed off with physical barriers erected by FrenteMar Funchal (the concessionaire for the district's bathing areas).
Funchal city council also announced that access to Cais do Carvão is closed and will remain so until Monday (15th December).
In the higher areas of the district, the municipal road of Chão da Lagoa in the Funchal Ecological Park is also closed to traffic for safety reasons and is expected to reopen on Sunday (14th December), it said.
The local authority called on the population to "respect all restricted and properly signposted areas, not to travel in coastal areas exposed to danger (...), not to engage in activities related to the sea and the coastline, namely sport fishing and water sports, and to comply with the recommendations issued by Civil Protection and police forces".
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