Europe’s ‘most terrifying runway’ has a notoriously tricky landing | Travel News | Travel

When you’re telling someone about your next trip and they respond with, “Oh, that’s where they have Europe’s most terrifying runway, right?”, it is hardly the most reassuring of conversations. Madeira had been on my list for quite some time, but mainly because of its reputation as ‘Europe’s answer to Hawaii’ rather than its infamous aviation status.

The island’s Cristiano Ronaldo Airport has an unusual location, in that it’s located right on the edge of the island, with a runway flanked by cliffs and the ocean. In fact, the climate means that there are some difficult crosswinds for aircraft to navigate in the approach to the island, so only pilots who have had specialist training are allowed to make the take offs and landings. According to friends and colleagues who’d already ticked the Portuguese island off the list, that often meant a bumpy ride for passengers.

Throw in the fact that its runway also happens to be on a bridge, with a sudden drop at the end, and a highway below it, and you can see why you’d want someone who’s particularly trained for the specific scenario to be in charge.

That’s not all either; planes have to take quite a sharp curved approach, and I didn’t fully appreciate what that meant until I found myself having to grab my belongings as they started to slide down towards the middle seat when we made our final approach towards the island.

The airport was previously famed for having a short runway, but this has been extended not once but twice. In 1977, TAP Flight 425, on a Boeing 727, overran the then-short runway and crashed onto the beach below, killing 131 people onboard. Following the incident, authorities extended the runway – however as the island doesn’t have flat land, an extension was built out over the Atlantic Ocean, supported by huge concrete pillars.

Nowadays the runway is approximately 9,124ft long. For context, the average commercial runway length is between 8,000-13,000ft. It’s also built to manage various commercial planes; in fact, a number of airlines including easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air all operate flights here, given the popularity with holidaymakers.

What it’s like as a passenger

I flew with easyJet to Madeira, and while I’m not typically a nervous flyer, I was slightly steeling myself for take-off and landing. However I have to admit, overall I was a bit underwhelmed. Maybe we just got lucky with the weather, but our landing didn’t feel particularly bumpy or hair-raising – the only bit where I noticed a difference was when the plane was approaching the island, and the aforementioned sharp curve.

Take-off was memorable, but not because of any fear. Instead, it was the views that I’ve been telling everyone about. I was in a seat on the right side of the plane, meaning as we taxied off, I got to enjoy gorgeous views of the island, with the various houses nestled into the cliffsides.

What is eye-catching as a passenger is that, to get ready for take-off, pilots do manoeuvre the plane at a sharp turn that’s right by the ocean. I had a fleeting worry about what would happen if the pilot overshot the move, as it seemed the only option would then be to drive off the edge, down to the beach below – not where we’d want to be.

However once we’ve made it through, it was time for take off – and being on the right meant I also got to enjoy those ridiculously pretty ocean views as we set off. Again, that sharp curve took me a bit off guard, although this time I was clutching on to my belongings a bit more tightly!