- published: 20 Mar 2016
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Madeira Airport (IATA: FNC, ICAO: LPMA), (informally known as Funchal Airport, and formerly known as Santa Catarina Airport), is an international airport in Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, located 13.2 km (8.2 mi) east northeast of the Cathedral of Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. The airport controls national and international air traffic for the island of Madeira. It was first opened on 18 July 1964 with two 1,600 m (5,249 ft) runways.
The airport was once infamous for its short runway which, surrounded by high mountains and the ocean, made it a tricky landing for even the most experienced of pilots. The original runway was only 1,600 m (5,249 ft) in length, but was extended by 200 m (656 ft) 8 years after the TAP Portugal Flight 425 incident of 1977 and subsequently rebuilt in 2000, almost doubling the size of the runway, building it out over the ocean. Instead of using landfill, the extension was built on a series of 180 columns, each about 70 m (230 ft) tall. This airport is also considered the Kai Tak of Europe because of its singular approach to runway 05. For the enlargement of the new runway the Funchal Airport has won the 2004 Outstanding Structure Award, given by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE). The Outstanding Structure Award is considered to be the "Oscar" for engineering structures worldwide. The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports, ranks it as the 9th most dangerous airport in the world, and the second most dangerous in Europe after Gibraltar International Airport.