Commercial flights will resume, starting this Monday (21), at Salgado Filho Airport, in Porto Alegre, after about 170 days of non-operation due to damage caused by the rains that hit the state in April and May.
According to the government of Rio Grande do Sul, around 9 thousand passengers will travel on the first day of operation, which will feature 71 flights (37 departures and 34 arrivals).
According to Fraport, the concessionaire that manages the airport, the first routes include flights to or from Brasília, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The hope is that the movement will expand little by little, because even though it only operates part of the main runway, Salgado Filho already handles up to 128 domestic operations per day.
“Before Christmas, the airport will operate 100%, [inclusive] with international flights”, assured the Minister of the Secretariat of Social Communications of the President of the Republic (Secom), Paulo Pimenta, in a video posted on social media.
“And we will maintain all the expansion of the airport network that we created in the interior of the state, during this difficult time”, added Pimenta, highlighting the importance of Salgado Filho for the reconstruction process and the resumption of economic activity in Rio. Grande do Sul.
With the gradual return to operations, check-in, baggage drop-off, boarding and disembarking of passengers will be carried out at the airport itself – meanwhile, in the international area, with access via doors 5 and 6 on the second floor.
The first eateries in the food court will also start operating next week. Fraport’s estimate is to restore all landing and takeoff runways and restart the first international flights on December 16.
Concentration
Responsible for more than 90% of air traffic in Rio Grande do Sul, Salgado Filho Airport had to close completely on May 3, during a socio-environmental disaster that affected more than 2.34 million people in 468 of 497 cities in Rio Grande do Sul, claimed at least 183 lives, flooding the landing and take-off runways and passenger terminals.
In mid-July, Fraport Brasil resumed some passenger processing (check-in and debarkation) and security controls at the airport, but customers were still transported by bus to/from Canoas Air Base, about 10 kilometers away, from where the planes were located. leaving or arriving.
The closure of Salgado Filho highlights the need for public and private investment in regional airports. And this led concessionaires to ask the federal government to conduct an extraordinary review of concession contracts, stating that, with the cessation of activities and the need to repair damage caused by flooding, this had a significant financial impact.
In August, the board of directors of the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) approved the disbursement by the Ministry of Ports and Airports of R$425.96 million for the company.
On the 27th, the Palácio do Planalto authorized, through Temporary Measure No. 1,260, the Ministry of Ports and Airports to transfer to Fraport the amount approved by Anac. The money will be transferred to the concessionaire in installments, if the need for expenditure is proven. Therefore, the value can still be adjusted.
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