Before you fly
Madeira airport (FNC): wind, diversions and your rights
Landings in Funchal do get cancelled or diverted by wind, and this is the only airport in the world with a mandatory wind limit written into its own regulations. Below is a calculator built from those published limits, an explanation of what happens when they are exceeded, and what you are owed when it happens.
Will my flight land in Madeira?
Pick your flight date. We compare the wind and visibility forecast for Funchal airport against the published landing limits.
This is an estimate from a weather model for the airport location, not a reading from the anemometers on the runway. The limits apply to the airport's own instruments, and the crew makes the landing decision. Operator limits can be stricter than the AIP ones. Always check your flight status with the airline.
Limits: AIP Portugal, LPMA AD 2.20, AIRAC 005-26. Forecast: Open-Meteo.
Why here in particular
The runway sits on a platform carried by pillars above the ocean, and a few kilometres from its threshold the terrain climbs to around 1800 m. The mountains break up the airflow, so wind on approach can change direction and strength over a short distance. That is why the airport regulations publish limits per sector of wind direction rather than a single figure.
For the same reason, crews flying here commercially go through separate training that is repeated every six months, and landings are made visually. None of this means it is dangerous: it means the margin is smaller than elsewhere, which is precisely why it gets used to break off an approach.
What happens when the wind goes out of limits
Air traffic control will not clear the landing and will issue go-around instructions. The aircraft usually holds and waits for an improvement, and when fuel no longer allows that, it heads for an alternate. Most often that means the Canary Islands, sometimes Porto Santo or Lisbon.
If the limits are exceeded after clearance has been given, the tower does not withdraw it and the decision rests with the crew. That is where the videos of approaches broken off tens of metres above the runway come from: not a mistake, but a procedure working as intended.
Your rights: no compensation, but care is owed
Strong wind counts as an extraordinary circumstance, so the €250 to €600 compensation under Regulation 261/2004 is NOT due when a cancellation or long delay is caused by it. Plenty of people fight for it anyway and lose.
The airline still owes you a duty of care whatever the cause: meals, a means to communicate, and, when an overnight stay is involved, a hotel and transport to it. If your flight is diverted to another airport, the airline is responsible for getting you to your destination. Keep receipts, because reasonable costs are refundable even where compensation is not.
From the airport onwards
The airport lies about 13 km from central Funchal on a toll-free expressway. The airport bus is the cheapest option, but it runs to a timetable, so it can be useless after a late landing. Taxis and ride-hailing apps run around the clock, with night and weekend surcharges.
If you land late, or travel with children and equipment, a transfer booked in advance removes the uncertainty at the end of a travel day. A car picked up at the airport makes sense if you plan to hike: public transport to trailheads is poor, and some car parks fill before dawn.
Useful next
The calculator is an estimate from a weather model, not a reading of the airport's instruments, and it does not replace information from your airline. Limits are quoted from AIP Portugal (LPMA AD 2.20, AIRAC 005-26); an individual airline's limits may be stricter. Passenger rights are described in general terms under Regulation (EC) 261/2004: in a dispute, the facts of your case and the airline's position are what count.