About
About the Data: How We Collect & Verify Schedules
Where our facts come from, how confident we are in each one, and how we keep them fresh.
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We build Madeira’s route, airline and airport facts from primary sources — ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, the AIP for LPMA, official accident reports, Eurostat and airlines’ own timetables. Every data point carries a high / medium / low confidence rating and a “last verified” date, route and schedule tables are reviewed at least quarterly, and we never quote a flight fare as a fixed fact.
What sources do we use?
We prioritise primary, authoritative sources and treat aggregators and encyclopaedias as an index to cross-check against, never as the final word. When sources disagree, we say so and lower the confidence rather than pick a number and hide the conflict.
| Source | What we use it for | Typical confidence |
|---|---|---|
| ANA Aeroportos de Portugal | Official airport information, destinations, traffic, announcements (FNC & PXO) | High |
| AIP for LPMA (AIS Portugal / NAV Portugal) | Runway data, approach and operating information, the basis for any wind/qualification context | High |
| Official accident reports | The 1977 TAP Flight 425 investigation and other incidents — causes, fatalities, outcomes | High |
| Eurostat & official statistics | Passenger and movement totals, by scope (FNC vs Porto Santo vs the whole region) | High |
| Airline timetables (TAP, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, British Airways, Binter, United, Azores Airlines, and others) | Which routes operate, seasonality and frequency | Medium |
| FlightConnections, FlightsFrom, Wikipedia | An index to discover and cross-check city-pairs | Low–medium (index only) |
How do we rate confidence?
Every time-sensitive data point — schedules, frequencies, prices, traffic — is labelled high, medium or low. The label tells you how much weight to put on it and whether you should re-check before relying on it.
| Level | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| High | Corroborated by an authoritative primary source; stable. | Runway length of 2,781 m after the 2000 extension. |
| Medium | From a credible source but schedule-dependent or only partly corroborated. | A specific airline’s weekly frequency on a route this season. |
| Low | Provisional, contested between sources, or changing fast — indicative only. | A specific fare, or a brand-new/announced route’s execution. |
We also tag every route with a status — active, seasonal, announced, suspended or historical — so a route that has been dropped or merely announced is never presented as something you can book today.
How fresh is the data, and how do we keep it that way?
Every page shows a human-readable “last verified” date and exposes a machine-readable dateModified, so both readers and AI engines can judge recency. Freshness is a deliberate trust signal, not an afterthought.
- Quarterly review: route and schedule tables are checked at least every quarter.
- Season-change review: schedules are re-checked around each IATA season boundary — roughly late March (summer) and late October (winter) — because that is when most Madeira routes start, stop or change frequency.
- Event-driven updates: major announcements (a new carrier, a route move, a suspension) are applied as they happen and recorded on the updates page.
- Scope of dates: a “last verified” date means we re-confirmed the page’s key facts against their sources on that day — not merely that we edited a typo.
Why we never quote a fixed fare
We do not state any flight price as a fact, because airfares are not facts — they are live, demand-driven quotes that change daily. A single number would be out of date within hours and actively misleading.
Instead we give:
- Dated ranges (“as of [date], one-way from roughly €X–€Y”), clearly marked as indicative.
- Relative, durable guidance: January and the winter shoulder are typically cheapest; August and the Christmas/New Year peak are dearest; book budget-carrier routes early.
- A pointer to the airline or a live search for the actual bookable price.
Operational data is illustrative, not for flight planning
Where we describe Madeira’s wind limits or pilot-qualification requirements, those are presented to explain why the airport is challenging — not for operational use. Aircraft operating limits and qualification rules come from operator manuals and the current AIP, which supersede anything written here.
Our corrections policy
We treat being corrected as a feature, not an embarrassment. If a reader, pilot or airline flags an error:
- We check the claim against the relevant primary source.
- If confirmed, we correct the page, update its “last verified” date, and — for material route changes — add an entry to the updates log.
- Where a correction overturns something we previously stated, we note it rather than quietly editing it away.
To report an error, email [email protected] with the page, the specific claim and a source. See also who writes and verifies the site.
Frequently asked questions
Where does madeiraflight.com get its data?
From primary sources — ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, the AIP for Madeira (LPMA), official accident reports, Eurostat and official traffic statistics, and airlines' own published timetables. Aggregators and Wikipedia are used only as an index to cross-check, never as the final word.
What do the high, medium and low confidence labels mean?
High means corroborated by an authoritative primary source. Medium means from a credible source but schedule-dependent or only partly corroborated. Low means provisional, contested between sources, or rapidly changing — treat it as indicative and re-verify.
How often is the data updated?
Route and schedule tables are reviewed at least quarterly and around each IATA season change (late March and late October). Every page carries a "last verified" date so you can see how current it is, plus a machine-readable dateModified.
Why don't you publish exact flight prices?
Airfares change daily by demand, season and how early you book, so any single number would be misleading. We give dated price ranges and relative guidance (January cheapest; August and Christmas dearest) and always point you to the airline for the live fare.
How do I report an error?
Email [email protected] with the page, the claim and a primary source. We check it against the source, correct it if confirmed, update the verification date, and note material route changes in the updates log.