Madeira Airport: arrivals, wind and the road to Funchal

Yes. The IATA code FNC is listed under the city of Funchal, and the ICAO code is LPMA. Its operator is ANA, under the name Aeroporto da Madeira, with an address in Santa Cruz. It is 13.2 km from Funchal Cathedral in a straight line; by road, the centre of Funchal is 19 km from the airport and the airport 20.1 km from the centre.

On floor 0. The car rental companies are in arrivals, before security, and the taxi rank is on the same ground floor. For a rental car booked on Madeira, the voucher sent after payment names the handover place, the pick-up time and how the deposit is held, and the rental company can be contacted before the handover to confirm the meeting details. Companies with no presence in the terminal may hand over and take back cars at the airport only in Car Park 6.

Because the airport's wind limits are mandatory. The landing limits depend on the wind's direction; the strictest allows a mean wind of 15 knots with gusts of 25 knots when it blows from between 300 and 010 degrees, and other directions allow 20 to 25 knots. The site very often produces wind variation and turbulence.

Of the diversions caused by wind, 80 per cent come with wind only up to three knots over the limits. A radar and LIDAR system to detect wind, MAWINDS, began a one-year trial phase announced in December 2024 to inform a possible review of the limits. If a flight is diverted or late, the rental company needs to reach you: the rental conditions require the booking phone number to be reachable from the day before pick-up.

Part of it stands over the sea. The runway is built partly on a slab resting on 180 pillars, and its bridge-supported section of 1,020 m holds the Guinness World Record for the longest bridge-supported runway extension.

By car, the airport joins the expressway network directly, at the Aeroporto Gare and Aeroporto Leste junctions. From the airport, Funchal is about 19 minutes away by the fastest road, Caniço 12, Machico 6 and Santa Cruz 4, without traffic. Every car the search shows lists the airport as a handover place, and a car can also be delivered in Funchal or Caniço instead.

By bus, the Aerobus 500 leaves from the arrivals area for Funchal and ends at Praia Formosa, stopping near the main hotels, in about 50 minutes; it takes cash, and the adult fare is 6.70 euros. Taxis leave from the rank in arrivals.

ANA's tariff in force since 20 September 2024, VAT included: P0 and P1 cost 0.95 euros per 15 minutes up to 18.50 euros a day, P7 costs 0.70 euros per 15 minutes up to 10.00 euros a day, and P8 costs 0.60 euros per 15 minutes up to 8.50 euros a day with the first 60 minutes free. A lost ticket costs 65.00 euros a day. Every ANA car park has a footpath to the terminal.

Booked online, P0 and P1 are capped at 12.95 euros a day and P7 at 7.00 euros, for a stay of at least 6 hours. For dropping someone off or picking them up, ANA asks drivers to use the designated parking areas.

Uber and Bolt are both available on Madeira, as an alternative to public transport, taxis or a rental car; Uber returned to the island on 23 December 2024. Bolt serves Madeira Airport, and its pickup point there is shown in the app and may change.

Yes, at the rank on the ground floor of Arrivals. Fares from the airport start at 4.00 euros on weekdays, with 20% more from 21:00 to 06:00 and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and 1.50 euros extra with baggage or animals; these are starting prices rather than totals, and they can change.

The Aerobus, line 500, leaves Madeira Airport every day from 08:30 to 22:00. On weekdays it runs every 30 minutes from 08:30 to 12:00 and then hourly from 13:00 to 22:00; Saturdays drop the 13:00 bus, and Sundays and holidays have fewer departures, running hourly from 14:00 to 22:00 after a morning run from 08:30. Towards the airport, buses leave Praia Formosa from 07:00 to 21:00, and the first reaches the airport about 50 minutes later.

There is no service on 25 December, and the operator, CAM, may change any trip without notice.

Adults pay 6.70 euros and children 3.30 euros on the Aerobus, and tickets bought on board cannot be paid by card. The terminal has a 24-hour ATM and a money exchange open from 05:00 to 01:00. The Aerobus is a fare zone of its own, and the transfer window on pre-paid bus tickets does not cover it. The bus has free Wi-Fi on board.

Madeira Airport has both. ANA sells a Fast Lane through security, bought on ANA's website or app or through the airline or travel agent; children up to 2 travelling with an adult who holds Fast Lane access go free, and it does not replace check-in or the security screening itself. The ANA Lounge opens from 07:00 to 22:00, with a maximum stay of 3 hours, and is open to every passenger for a fee; some airlines and clubs give free or discounted entry.

In July 2026 the airport warned of longer border-control waits on departure and asked passengers on flights outside the Schengen area to arrive early.

The Madeira archipelago has two airports: Madeira Airport, code FNC, on the main island, and the airport on Porto Santo. In 2025 Madeira Airport and the airport on Porto Santo together handled more than 5.7 million passengers.