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ANA-Portugal reported that Madeira Airport was “fully operational” on Tuesday. After several flights were cancelled due to bad weather,This situation led the PS to make a request for clarification to the local government.
In a response sent to Lusa, ANA Portugal confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport “has faced airport operating restrictions, flight delays and cancellations in recent days, with impacts for passengers”.
The airport manager also confirmed that passengers were “forced to remain at the airport” and that airport operations were affected by strong winds, especially since the weekend.
Due to the “exceptional situation” caused by the adverse weather conditions in the archipelago, “all the teams at the airport and its partners have been mobilized and they are doing everything within their capabilities to support passengers stranded at the airport, without accommodation and without flights”, assures ANA.
He added: “Weather conditions have allowed the airport to operate fully, which means airlines have adjusted to the situation and are continuing the journeys of passengers waiting for flights.”
According to the airport manager, “the airport team activated the emergency plan”, but the archipelago’s largest opposition party, the Socialist Party, has questioned the Madeira regional government over the activation of the plan.
The situation at the airport led a Madeira parliamentary group to send a request for clarification to the regional minister of economy, tourism and culture, Eduardo Jesus.
In a statement sent to journalists today, the socialists explicitly questioned whether ANA had “activated its contingency plan (…) in order to provide all the necessary support to the affected passengers”.
The socialists also demanded “extraordinary measures to provide greater comfort for stranded passengers”.
On Monday, Portuguese consumer protection association DECO told Lusa news agency that air passengers’ rights were not respected in the infrastructure.
According to ANA, the contingency plan “includes strengthening resources to support passengers, installing facilities such as beds, water and food in the terminal to minimize discomfort, and providing permanent medical support to airlines to reschedule new flights.”
It also said that “all information provided by airlines is communicated by the airports”.
DECO recorded other information and told Lusa on Monday that the airport authorities did not provide the necessary information to the passengers.
Until 6pm on Monday, Madeira was under an orange alert for hot weather (now, like Porto Santo, under yellow alert), a level issued by the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere when hot weather conditions are considered moderate to high risk.
A rural fire that broke out in the Ribeira Brava mountain area on Wednesday was also difficult to extinguish due to high winds, and the fire spread to the neighboring municipality of Camara de Lobos the next day and to the city of Punta del Sol over the weekend.
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