Passengers on a TUI flight from Manchester to Madeira experienced a nightmare trip lasting 60 hours and involving three diversions due to bad weather, finally landing in Madeira on the fourth attempt.
Madeira Funchal Airport is known for its difficult landing conditions and unpredictable weather.
The airline took almost an entire additional day to get the weary passengers to their destination.
TUI Flight Diverted Due Bad Weather
A TUI flight from Manchester to Madeira experienced multiple diversions and took around 60 hours to finally land.
The flight first diverted to Porto Santo Airport due to bad weather in Madeira.
The next day, the flight attempted a second landing in Madeira but was again unable to land due to poor weather, diverting to Tenerife South Airport.
After circling Madeira for over three hours, the flight returned to Tenerife and eventually landed in Madeira the next day.
60 Hours of Nightmare Flight
Passengers on a TUI flight to Madeira experienced a nightmare trip, spending two nights in airport hotels and enduring several hours on an aircraft or in an airport.
The flight crew decided not to land at Madeira Funchal Airport due to unpredictable weather conditions and variable wind conditions on approach.
Madeira Airport’s Approach Is So Challenging
An SAS Airbus A320neo had previously suffered a hard landing at Funchal after facing wind shear on final approach.
Madeira Funchal Airport is known to be one of the more difficult airports to land at in the world.
For those curious, the flight was operated by a 10-year-old Boeing 737-800 registered G-TAWM.
It has seats for 189 passengers, all in economy, though it isn’t known how full the flight was.
What do you think of this ordeal?
And have you ever visited Madeira and faced an uncomfortable landing?