Government moves Rio flights from Santos Dumont airport to Galeão

As of January 2, Rio de Janeiro’s centrally located Santos Dumont Airport will only operate flights to São Paulo’s Congonhas Airport and Vitória, in the neighboring state of Espírito Santo. All other connections to and from the city will be made through Galeão Airport, which is further away from the city center and has struggled to turn a profit. 

The announcement was made this Thursday by Ports and Airports Minister Márcio França. The issue had been discussed with Rio’s governor, Cláudio Castro, in recent months — as he told The Brazilian Report in May. 

Hours earlier, Mr. Castro announced that he will build a 30 centimeter thick wall on the highway that connects Galeão Airport to downtown Rio — nominally to protect against stray bullets from the Maré complex of favelas, which leans on to the western side of the road. Insecurity was one of the reasons passengers cited as why they choose to avoid using Galeão Airport.

Located to the north of the city on Ilha do Governador, Galeão has been steadily losing passengers in recent years. Meanwhile, Santos Dumont, located near downtown Rio and affording breathtaking views of the city upon takeoff or landing, is being pushed to its limit. 

More than 10 million passengers used Santos Dumont Airport last year, compared with less than six million in Galeão — which has the capacity to receive 37 million passengers a year.

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