Salgado Filho International Airport (IATA: POA, ICAO: SBPA) is the airport serving Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is named after the Senator and first Minister of the Brazilian Air Force Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho (1888–1950). It is operated by Fraport.
Salgado Filho was originally called São João Federal Airport, after the neighborhood where it is located. In the beginning it was an air club, where the first flights landed on May 31, 1923.
In 1932, needing a facility to use its aircraft with landing-gear which were replacing its seaplanes, Varig started using São João Airport as its operational base. However, it was only in 1940 that the first passenger terminal was inaugurated.
On October 12, 1951, São João Federal Airport was renamed Salgado Filho Airport, after the Senator and Minister who died the year before on a crash involving a SAVAG aircraft that departed from Porto Alegre.
In 1953 the old terminal was incorporated into the maintenance facilities of Varig, a new passenger terminal was opened, and runways were paved. Until that year larger aircraft such as Lockheed L-049 Constellations had to land at Canoas Air Force Base. This new terminal is known as Passenger Terminal 2. It underwent major renovations and enlargements between 1969 and 1971 but unable to cope with the increasing traffic, another brand new facility was built. This new facility was named Passenger Terminal 1 and opened on September 11, 2001. Terminal 2 became underused by general aviation and cargo services.
However, in order to cope with the increasing passenger traffic at the airport, on September 8, 2010 a decision was made to renovate Terminal 2 and bring it back into passenger use. It became operational on December 4, 2010.
In January 2018, the airport's operations and administration were taken over by German private airport operator Fraport, which in the previous year had been the winning bidder in an auction from the Brazilian government for the concession of the airport for 25 years. On the same occasion, Fraport also won the concession of Pinto Martins International Airport in Fortaleza, Northeastern Brazil.
The total area of the Salgado Filho Airport is about 3,805,810 square metres (40,965,400 sq ft) with 14,750 square metres (158,800 sq ft) of ramp area. Terminal 1 has 37,600 square metres (405,000 sq ft) and 16 gates with jetways. Terminal 2 has 15,540 square metres (167,300 sq ft). In front of Terminal 1 there is a carpark with 1,440 places. Terminal 1 is the first facility in Latin America with a shopping mall.
One of the two TAP Maintenance & Engineering centers in Brazil is located at Salgado Filho International Airport.
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Austral Líneas Aéreas | Buenos Aires–Ezeiza |
Avianca Costa Rica | Lima, San Jose de Costa Rica |
Avianca Peru | Lima |
Azul Brazilian Airlines | Belo Horizonte–Confins, Campinas, Chapecó, Córdoba, Curitiba,
Florianópolis, Foz do Iguaçu, Passo Fundo, Montevideo, Pelotas,
Recife, Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont, Rosario, Santa Maria, Santo
Ângelo, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Uruguaiana Seasonal: Punta del Este |
Copa Airlines | Panama City–Tocumen |
Gol Airlines | Brasília, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos |
LATAM Brasil | Brasília, Fortaleza, Maceio, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos |
LATAM Chile | Santiago de Chile |
LATAM Perú | Seasonal: Lima (begins December 14, 2019) |
TAP Air Portugal | Lisbon |
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
LATAM Cargo Brasil | Miami |
Total Linhas Aéreas | São Paulo-Guarulhos |
The airport is served by rail, taxi, and bus.
People mover (Aeromóvel) connects the International Airport to the Porto Alegre Metro Airport Station since August 10, 2013. Porto Alegre Metro connects Downtown Porto Alegre with the International Airport and cities of metropolitan area.
Terminals 1 and 2 have taxi services.
Bus routes T5, T11, and B09 link Terminal 1 - International Airport to the city of Porto Alegre.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
%