Madeira is an Atlantic Island politically belonging to Portugal – however, it is located far away not only from the country, but from every other larger land period, almost 400 kilometers from the Canary Islands – and like the Spanish islands, it’s delightful climate and geography makes it a very popular holiday destination. On such distances, the most convenient way of transport is by plane – however, Madeira is a small and mountainous island, making it difficult to build one. Nonetheless, the Portuguese managed. How?
To create a runway long enough to allow for large distance carriers to land and take off, a nearly 3000 meters long massive girder bridge atop about 200 pillars (each 180 meters tall) was built, giving the airport quite a spectacular look. This unique structure was built by Brazilian company Andrade Gutierrez in 2000. This architectural solution achieved the Madeira airport the Outstanding Structure Award in 2004 by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.
What about other characteristics of the Madeira airport? The airport is located 13 km from the regional capital Funchal (thus sometimes called the Funchal airport) and was named after world famous Madeiran football player Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016. It has a single terminal with 40 check-in desks, 16 boarding gates, and 7 baggage belts. There are no air-bridges, so passengers either walk the short distance to the terminal or are taken by shuttle bus.
For more information of Madeira and Portugal, visit the tourist portal Lasti24.
Airport data
Official name: Cristiano Ronaldo Aeroporto da Madeira
Address: 9100-105 Santa Cruz, Madeira, Portugal
Website: aeroportomadeira.pt
Phone: +351 291 520 700
Unique Airports 