British Airways adds Funchal flights for Winter 2024

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• paul says:

  24 Dec24 December 11:26

  Always read horror stories about bad weather cancelling Madeira flights – often whilst approaching to land.

  Lovely island though.

  • Bernard says:

    24 Dec24 December 11:48

    There’s a small risk of diverting to Porto Santo (10 minutes flight away) if there’s a bad short-lived squall. Nothing like the issues there could be before the runway was extended many years ago.
    Shame it’s Gatwick. Lounges decent but the rest is ghastly, trashy shops, and Gatwick Club catering is dreadful – and some dreadful menu options. Do&Co it ain’t.
    The connection on TAP via Lisbon might be better from Heathrow (instead of ghastly Gatwick).

• Misty says:

  24 Dec24 December 12:34

  Pleased to see these flights turn up. We are traveling to Madeira in the Spring and are expecting like in & anticipate wanting to rebook for 2025.

  However disappointed that it’s now Gatwick. Gatwick always looks like some sort 60’s vision of hell in concrete and they are constantly digging up the M23 so getting there can be if, not when, but we find both terminals more roomy.

  There appears to be more staff on things like security and border control and we only seem to get delayed landings (circling Kent and Sussex a couple of times) rather than take off.

  I don’t mind Heathrow too much, it’s basically 5 airports next to one another it’s just the unknown traffic issues that can stress you out, meaning you get there hours before you need to, if you are a bit OCD like we are.

  • Radiata says:

    24 Dec24 December 14:49

    OCD?

    I thought three hours standard for LHR and I was the reckless one is aiming for 90 mins before departure time…

• Richie says:

  24 Dec24 December 13:00

  Did you look at domestic flights to / from LIS and OPO and to / from MAD?

  • redlilly says:

    25 Dec25 December 15:29

    New Years is a very popular time to travel to Madeira for Portuguese people living both inside and outside of Portugal, so some of these prices do not surprise me and will be similar from OPO and LIS.

    Also remember, there are tonnes of Portuguese migrants in the UK who travel home for Christmas and likewise lots of Brits with second homes. Prices are always sky high around Xmas.

    • Strawb says:

      26 Dec26 December 09:10

      Correct. Sky high fares not just from London but also from LIS/OPO into FNC at Christmas/New Year. We paid the price to travel at this time of the year as my partner has family on the Island. Also a big contingency of South Africans here in Madeira.

• Alan says:

  24 Dec24 December 13:17

  So frustrating they keep moving flights to Gatwick but not reinstating domestic connections – effectively removing routes from folks that don’t live near London.

  • Erico1875 says:

    24 Dec24 December 23:01

    Yes. From Scotland we only have 1 early morning flight from Glasgow to Gatwick.
    I’m using it in Jan for an onward flight to SSH however it means arriving almost 24hrs b4 my onward connection.
    Have a choice of abt 20 flights to LCY or LHR from EDI or GLA

  • Jill Kinkell says:

    24 Dec24 December 23:27

    We have easyJet to Gatwick but not BA , so cannot get connecting on one ticket without trekking from LHR to LGW. .great to get to Madeira via LHR in October this year and rebooked to go again in May. Might not have done so if flight was from LGW

• bernard says:

  25 Dec25 December 15:55

  where have all the Heathrow slots gone to that all the flights shunted to Gatwick have created?
  Hardly much new coming at Heathrow and what there is delivers such bad options you can’t use Heathrow for business for many major business cities now (Brussels, Frankfurt, Oslo, Lyon, Stockholm, Dusseldorf).
  Is there some magic slot black hole at Heathrow? because BA sure as xxxx aren’t simply under using what they’ve got to build slack so to build punctuality/reliability – as that’s got as abysmal as ever.

• Tim says:

  26 Dec26 December 08:18

  Disappointed they’ve moved the Madeira flights to Gatwick. Recent reviews from other travel writers suggest the crews there now deliver a poor Club Europe service. Would be great if HFP could do some more LGW flights to provide a second opinion.

• Carol Lumsden says:

  29 Dec29 December 15:36

  Not happy about BA moving Madeira flights to Gatwick, there are no flights from Newcastle to Gatwick, so it will be no more holidays to Madeira

• Lonli-Lokli says:

  30 Dec30 December 00:20

  1 economy seat left for the start of half term to Madeira, unfortunately. Hope easyjet will be cheaper 🙂

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