In March 2025, the region’s airports handled 442.5 thousand passengers and moved 2,975 aircraft (commercial flights), reflecting year-on-year rates of change of +6.7% and +7.1%, respectively. Numbers that, in addition to those of January and February, result in more than 1.1 million passengers and more than 8.1 thousand aircraft in the first three months of 2025. A growth that shows no signs of slowing down.
According to information provided by ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal to the Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM), “in the month in question, Madeira airport recorded an increase, both in the movement of aircraft (2,808; +8.5% compared to March 2024), as well as in the number of passengers (431.8 thousand; +7.7%). At Porto Santo airport, there was a reduction in the movement of aircraft (167; -12.1% than in the same period of 2024) and in the number of passengers (10.7 thousand; -22.0%). It should be noted that the results for this month may have been influenced by the calendar effect, as Easter was a month later this year.” States a DREM representative.
Even so, “in the first three months of 2025, the variations in aircraft and passenger movements were +8.8% and +6.7%, respectively”, and it is a new maximum for the 1st quarter.
Going back to March 2025, “each aircraft (considering together those that landed and took off) carried, on average, around 154 passengers (155 in March 2024) at Madeira airport, while at Porto Santo that figure was close to 64 passengers (72 in the same period of 2024),” indicates DREM, a sign that there is capacity for more passengers, and therefore the occupancy of aircraft decreased.
Also in March, “the movement of passengers at the airports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira increased by 15.8% in international traffic (205.9 thousand) and decreased by 3.2% in the domestic segment (191.5 thousand),”justified by a ‘late’ Easter.
At Madeira airport, international traffic (57.1%) predominated over domestic traffic (42.9% of the total). At Porto Santo Airport, there was a preponderance of domestic traffic (60.8% of the total), but with a greater disproportion compared to the same period in 2024 (58.6% of the total).
In the month in question, scheduled flights at the airports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira accounted for 91.5% of the total number of aircraft handled and 93.1% of the passengers (91.4% and 93.6% in March 2024, respectively). In March 2025, the occupancy of aircraft handled at the airports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira was around 86.0%, with Madeira airport reaching 86.7% and Porto Santo reaching 65.6%. Last year, the year-on-year occupancy rates were higher, both in the two regional airports (87.9%), Madeira airport (88.5%), and Porto Santo airport (72.9%).”
Finally, it should be noted that the number of passengers embarking and disembarking at the airports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (without considering passengers in transit) amounted to 1,139.5 thousand, from January to March 2025, 43.5% of this total corresponded to traffic exclusively between airports located in the national territory, which includes domestic and domestic connections and 56.5% to international traffic. Within the scope of the latter, the United Kingdom was the main country of origin and destination of international flights from the airports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (29.1%), followed by Germany (22.8%) and Poland (12.4%).
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Photo: DREM
