The Brazilian government announced on Thursday a sharp reduction from January 2024 of flights at Rio de Janeiro’s Santos Dumont airport, near the city center, which will be limited to domestic journeys of no more than 400km. This measure, signed by the Minister of Ports and Airports Marcio Franca and by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, aims to transfer the bulk of air traffic to the Tom Jobin International Airport, located in Galeao, north of the metropolis.
Under the new rule, Santos Dumont airport will now only handle flights to or from the surrounding cities of Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state) and Vitoria (Espirito Santo state). Therefore, Brasilia, the federal capital, will no longer be served from this airport. Likewise, the link with the Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo will be eliminated.
Galeao airport unpopular with travelers
Santos Dumont Airport is a favorite among travelers due to its proximity to downtown and Rio’s tourist spots. It welcomed ten million travelers last year, at the limit of its capacity, causing delays and queues.
On the other hand, the Galeao airport only received six million passengers in 2022, five times less than its annual capacity of thirty million passengers. It lost 65% of its passenger traffic between 2014 and 2022, according to data from the Rio Galeao concessionaire published by the G1 news site. Located about 17 km from the center of Rio, the Galeao airport is unpopular with travelers who deplore the traffic jams on its access roads and the insecurity during the journey.
Source: BFM TV
