Passenger movement at Madeira airports records a drop of 3.2% compared to January 2023

The Madeira Regional Statistics Directorate (DREM) releases today, based on information from ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, the first data relating to air transport in the Region in relation to the month of January 2024.

According to data revealed by DREM, Madeira and Porto Santo airports registered, in the month in question, a movement of 312.9 thousand passengers, transported on 2,335 aircraft (commercial flights), translating year-on-year variations of -3.2 % and -9.9%, respectively. It should be noted that this reduction in passenger movement interrupts a 34-month sequence of successive year-on-year growth in this indicator.

Each aircraft (considering those that landed and took off together) carried, on average, around 139 passengers (129 in January 2023), at Madeira airport, while at Porto Santo that figure exceeded 65 passengers (63 in the month homologue).

In January 2024, the movement of domestic and international passengers at RAM airports recorded a negative year-on-year variation in both international traffic (-3.8%) and the domestic segment (-2.6%).

At Madeira Airport, international traffic (53.0%) predominated compared to domestic traffic (47.0% of the total), while at Porto Santo Airport, domestic traffic was dominant (76.3% of the total).

In this reference month, scheduled flights at RAM airports represented 91.3% of total aircraft handled and 93.1% of passengers (93.3% and 94.8% in the same period last year, respectively).

In January 2024, the occupancy of aircraft handled at RAM airports was around 79.1%, with Madeira airport reaching 79.3% and Porto Santo airport reaching 73.8%. In the same month last year, the occupancy rate was lower, at 73.4%, 73.6% and 66.6%, in the same order.

In the first month of 2024, passengers embarked and disembarked at RAM airports amounted to 312.1 thousand, half corresponding to traffic exclusively between airports located in the national territory, which includes internal and domestic connections (48.0% of the total in the as a whole), and another internationally (52.0%). Within the scope of the latter, the United Kingdom was the main country of origin and destination for international flights from RAM airports (34.9%), followed by Germany (19.8%) and France (4.0%).

In the IATA (International Air Transport Association) Summer, from March 26 to October 28, 2023, Madeira airport operated commercial flights from 27 airlines (28 in the IATA Summer 2022), with 64 routes (60 in the same period last year) to 57 destinations (54 in IATA Summer 2022). At Porto Santo airport, commercial flights were carried out on 7 routes (8 in the IATA 2022 summer), from 8 airlines (9 in the same period last year) to 7 destinations (8 in the IATA 2022 summer).