Latam launches two daily routes at a terminal in Grande Porto Alegre. Azul and Gol start operating on Saturday (1)
Almost a month after the closure, for an indefinite period, of the Salgado Filho international airport, in Porto Alegre, the first passengers were able to embark and disembark, this Monday (27), on commercial flights, at the Canoas air base, in the region subway of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. The first airline to operate in the military terminal is Latam. There were two arriving and two departing flights, connecting the Canoas base to Congonhas and Guarulhos airports, both in Sao Paulo.
Coming from Guarulhos, Thiago Silveira was one of the passengers who disembarked in Canoas in the early afternoon. He lives in Australia and returned to Brazil to help his mother. “I had to come because of the floods. I came to help my mother and I will return in two weeks,” he said.
Tatiana Borin, resident of Porto de Alegre, was on holiday in Rio de Janeiro. She had arrived in the capital of Rio a few days before the floods began and in the end she was unable to fly home. “My return was scheduled for last week and all the flights were cancelled, so it was rescheduled for today. I still don’t know what I’ll find,” she said.
Canoas Air Base Receives Commercial Flights Monday – Rafa Neddermeyer/Agenzia Brasil
Some of the passengers waiting to board to Guarulhos were residents of other states, but ended up staying in Porto Alegre and the metropolitan region due to the airport closure. The foreman Adalberto Vasques Carvalho, originally from Manaus, was in the city for work, on a construction site, and his work was interrupted during the floods. He said he was used to river overflows, but said he had never seen anything like it. “There [no Amazonas], the river fills, but more slowly, and not with this strength and height. It’s something I’ve never seen before, so much rain.”
Agricultural engineer Wesley Pereira was embarking with his final destination in Bujari, Acre. He has spent the last 9 months in Porto Alegre treating kidney disease and waiting for a kidney transplant, which he managed to do in February. With the medical discharge I would have liked to return home at the beginning of May, but only now was it possible. “We were without electricity and water for 19 days,” he says of the last few weeks of flooding in the city. Despite the scare, he says he returned home happy and fulfilled. “Very happy to have gotten the kidney and to return home healthier than before. I will continue the treatment, coming once a month,” he celebrated.
Starting next Saturday (1st), GOL and Azul operations will begin and, as a result, the Air Base will receive 10 flights per day, five arrivals and five departures, which is the maximum operational capacity approved by the National Aviation Agency Civil (Anac) in this period of emergency of the air network. According to Fraport, concessionaire of the Salgado Filho airport and which carries out emergency and temporary operations through the Canoas air base, this number of flights represents the limit of the daily capacity of boarding, disembarking, landing and take-off. The air base continues to operate normally as a military unit, centralizing rescue efforts and logistics to receive and distribute donations to different regions of the state.
How does it work
The operation via the Canoas air base is entirely carried out from a temporary passenger terminal set up at the Canoas Park Shopping, which is located approximately 3 kilometers from the air base. Located on the 2nd floor of the mall, in an area of 424 square meters, the temporary terminal has a space used for airline check-in, baggage drop-off and passenger boarding. X-ray machines and metal detector portals have been installed on site to inspect passengers and hand luggage. The entire operation is supervised by the Federal Police, as required by airport regulations.
Operations through the Canoas air base are entirely carried out from a temporary passenger terminal set up at Park Shopping Canoas – Rafa Neddermeyer/Agenzia Brasil
From there they take a bus to the air base’s runway, a process similar to the remote boarding that occurs at conventional airports. Likewise, those disembarking in Canoas go from the runway by bus directly to the temporary ParkShopping terminal, where they finish their flight with baggage claim.
“The procedure was the same as traditional airports. Passengers arrive here at the terminal [shopping]carry out their service, check in, drop off their luggage, follow all the safety procedures and get on the buses that take them to the Canoas air base and up to boarding the plane”, explained Rafael Guerra, head of Fraport communications.
The ParkShopping space was made available free of charge by the project management. To try to ensure greater convenience, the opening hours of some shops in the shopping center, such as bars and car rental agencies, have been extended.
Guide to passengers
Fraport Brasil’s guidance is for passengers to report to the ParkShopping Terminal at least three hours before the scheduled take-off time. The boarding process will end an hour and a half before the flight. After this deadline it will not be possible to access the departure lounge.
Passenger access to the Air Base will be exclusive to those who have completed the boarding procedures at ParkShopping Canoas and only with buses identified by Fraport Brasil. Passengers should not travel directly to the air base.
ANAC authorized the operation of commercial flights at Canoas air base on the 20th. From then on, Latam, Azul and Gol rescheduled part of their flights in the state.
In principle, the use of the air base is temporary and will last until Salgado Filho Airport is able to operate again. It has been closed since the 3rd and there are no plans to reopen.
According to Fraport Brasil it is necessary to wait for the waters to recede to assess the real extent of the damage and only then define a recovery plan for the terminal. With the rain the landing and take-off runway was submerged. In some parts of the passenger terminal the water rose up to 2.5 metres.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
