[11] In 1972, the popularity of visiting the island of Madeira increased, so the runway was extended to allow modern and larger aircraft to land.

The newly extended runway—now 2,781 m (9,124 ft) long—and terminal were inaugurated on 6 October 2002, and to mark the occasion, an Air Atlanta Icelandic Boeing 747-200, registration TF-ABA, landed at the airport.

[14] Although this was a rare event, some TAP Air Portugal flights on the Lisbon-Caracas-Lisbon route used to have scheduled stops at Madeira with Airbus A330-200 widebody aircraft.

[18] Neither the bust nor the name change were unanimous, actually far from a consensus, as the former was ridiculed by Saturday Night Live's character Cecilia Giminez, portrayed by comedian and actress Kate McKinnon,[19] with the latter being subject to much debate and controversy locally by politicians and citizens, who even started a petition against the move.

[23] The airport was once infamous for its short runway of only 1,600 m (5,249 ft), which, surrounded by high mountains and the ocean, made it a difficult and technically demanding landing for even the most experienced pilots.

As landfill was not a realistic option, the extension was built on a platform, partly over the ocean, supported by 180 columns, each about 70 m (230 ft) tall.

The runway extension was conducted by the Brazilian construction company Andrade Gutierrez and is recognized worldwide as one of the most difficult to achieve due to the type of terrain and orography.

In 2016, Madeira Airport was modernised and renovated by its operator, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, as part of an €11 million investment.

[25] The renovation and investment project also accommodated the strengthening and re-profiling of the runway and taxiways, increasing the usable area by more than 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2).