Madeira Airport flights begin to recover after Storm Bruna
At a glance
Madeira Airport began recovering on Sunday evening after Storm Bruna. DNOTICIAS.PT reports that all 21 arrivals scheduled after 17:15 on 8 November operated. Euronews counted 54 cancellations by 19:00 that day. Check your airline for replacement travel and assistance if your booking was affected.
21 arrivals
all scheduled after 17:15 on Sunday operated
54 cancellations
reported by 19:00 on 8 November
Check rebooking
confirm your own replacement flight
In this article
Quick facts
Facts checked
- Airport
- Madeira International Airport (FNC)
- Update
- 9 November 2026
- Sunday snapshot
- 54 cancellations by 19:00, per Euronews
- Evening recovery
- 21 scheduled arrivals operated after 17:15
Confirmed: Euronews reported 26 cancelled arrivals and 28 cancelled departures by 19:00 on 8 November. DNOTICIAS.PT reported that the evening arrivals operated.
Still uncertain: The final daily total, Monday’s full operating picture and whether planned extra flights operated remain unverified.
Check your compensation
Free preliminary check. You can change your choice later.
Another flight problemWhat to do now
Check your flight before going to the airport
ANA Aeroportos advises passengers to contact their airline to confirm the flight status before travelling to the airport.
Choose between rerouting and a refund
If your flight is cancelled, you may be entitled to choose a refund or rerouting to your final destination. Check the date and connections before accepting an alternative.
Ask for care while you wait
Meals and, where needed, a hotel and transport may be due while you wait for a replacement flight. Keep reasonable receipts if the airline does not help.
Keep your documents
Save your booking, the cancellation notice, the new itinerary and any reason the airline gives. Note when you actually reach your final destination.
Your passenger rights
Flights departing Madeira normally fall under EU261, whatever the airline. Flights into Madeira from outside the EU are covered only when the airline is an EU airline. Airlate handles EU261 claims only.
Refund or rerouting
For a cancellation covered by EU261, you may be entitled to choose between a refund and rerouting to your final destination.
Care during the wait
Bad weather does not remove the right to care. Meals, accommodation and necessary transport may be due while you wait.
Compensation is unlikely for weather
Bad weather is normally an extraordinary circumstance. The airline must show that the weather caused your disruption and that it took all reasonable measures. A cancellation for another reason on the same day needs its own assessment.
9 November update: Sunday evening arrivals resumed
- All 21 arrivals scheduled after 17:15 on Sunday 8 November operated, according to DNOTICIAS.PT. Times are local.
- At least five extra overnight flights were planned for stranded passengers. Their operation has not been verified.
- Euronews counted 54 cancellations by 19:00 on Sunday. Lusa’s earlier midday snapshot counted 20 cancellations and eight diversions. The cancellation counts overlap.
Saturday 7 November, afternoon
- 37 cancelled flights: 20 arrivals and 17 departures, according to ANA Aeroportos data reported by DNOTICIAS.PT.
- The morning count was 16. The 37 includes those 16; the counts should not be added.
- Airlines named: TAP, easyJet, Transavia, British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2 and Enter Air.
Which routes were affected?
DNOTICIAS.PT lists cancelled flights to and from Porto, Lisbon, London (Gatwick and Luton), Manchester, Marseille, Paris (Orly), Lyon, Basel, Poznan and Bristol.
On Saturday morning, a TAP flight from Lisbon due at 09:15 could not land and was diverted back to Lisbon, according to FlightRadar data cited by DNOTICIAS.PT. Three other aircraft, from Marseille, Brussels and Lisbon, were holding near the airport while waiting to land.
Weather warnings during the weekend
IPMA, the Portuguese weather service, issued orange warnings for all of Madeira from 18:00 on Saturday for persistent, sometimes heavy rain with thunderstorms and for wind gusts of up to 100 km/h, and up to 130 km/h in the mountain region. Yellow wind warnings continued on Sunday 8 November from 09:00 to 21:00.
ANA Aeroportos advised passengers to confirm their flight status with the airline before travelling to the airport.
Your rights when Madeira flights are cancelled
A cancellation covered by EU261 gives you a choice between a refund and rerouting, and the right to care while you wait. This applies even when the cause is bad weather.
Fixed compensation depends on the reason for your cancellation. If the airline relies on extraordinary weather conditions, it must show that they caused your disruption and that it could not avoid it despite taking reasonable measures.
Airlate handles EU261 claims
Flights departing Madeira are normally covered by EU261, whatever the airline. Flights from outside the EU are covered only on an EU airline. Airlate handles EU261 claims only.
Frequently asked questions
The Sunday evening arrivals reported by DNOTICIAS.PT operated. Check your own booking for Monday and any replacement itinerary.
Usually not. Bad weather is normally an extraordinary circumstance. You may still be entitled to a refund or rerouting, and to care while you wait.
Ask the airline how you will reach your booked destination and keep a record of your actual arrival time. The rights that apply depend on where you landed and how the airline completed the journey.
It depends on the airline. A flight from the UK to Madeira is covered by EU261 only when the airline is an EU airline. Airlate handles EU261 claims only.
Check your compensation
Free preliminary check. You can change your choice later.
Another flight problemShow all 9 sources
Every factual statement in this article rests on one of the sources below: EU regulations, judgments of the EU Court of Justice and the authorities' own pages.
Sources
- Aeroporto da Madeira já soma 37 voos cancelados · DNOTICIAS.PT · News media · retrieved 2026-11-07
- Aeroporto da Madeira com 16 operações canceladas · DNOTICIAS.PT · News media · retrieved 2026-11-07
- 12 chegadas e 10 partidas canceladas na Madeira · JM Madeira · News media · retrieved 2026-11-07
- Weather warnings (open data feed) · IPMA (Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere) · Authority · retrieved 2026-11-07
- Air passenger rights · European Union / Your Europe · Authority · retrieved 2026-11-07
- Depressão Bruna: continente sob aviso amarelo e vários desalojados na Madeira · Euronews · News media · retrieved 2026-11-09
- Depressão Bruna já provocou 53 voos cancelados no Aeroporto da Madeira · DNOTICIAS.PT · News media · retrieved 2026-11-09
- Movimento começou a normalizar-se esta noite no Aeroporto da Madeira · DNOTICIAS.PT · News media · retrieved 2026-11-09
- Aeroporto da Madeira continua condicionado devido ao mau tempo · Lusa via Notícias ao Minuto · News media · retrieved 2026-11-09