A lone male intruder managed to cut through safety fencing surrounding the NAV radars using a saw, and blocked communications between the control tower and aircraft for an hour and a half.
The incident dates back to September but only last weekend was the dual-nationality intruder caught and arrested.
The 32-year-old suspect, of French-Portuguese nationality, was detained by PJ police in Funchal, Madeira, on Sunday and held in custody.
Air authorities quoted by newspaper Diário de Notícias said the man’s incursion caused “a complete failure of communications between the control towers of Madeira and the Lisbon Air Traffic Control Centre, with implications for radar communications with airplanes flying over the area of the Autonomous Region of Madeira.”
According to the newspaper, PJ police concluded the suspect, who suffers from psychological problems, “knew exactly what he was doing and which cables to cut.”
Portugal’s NAV air navigation bureau announced that additional security measures are being implemented at its radar facilities on Porto Santo.