Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Rio de Janeiro/Galeão
Antônio Carlos Jobim
International Airport
nativename = Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro/Galeão
Antônio Carlos Jobim
nativename-a =
nativename-r =


image-width =
caption =
IATA = GIG
ICAO = SBGL
type = Public/Military
owner =
operator = Infraero
city-served =
location = Rio de Janeiro
elevation-f = 28
elevation-m = 9
coordinates = Coord|22|48|32|S|43|14|37|W|type:airport
website =
metric-elev = yes
metric-rwy = yes
r1-number = 10/28
r1-length-f = 13,123
r1-length-m = 4,000
r1-surface = Concrete
r2-number = 15/33
r2-length-f = 10,433
r2-length-m = 3,180
r2-surface = Asphalt
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
stat2-header =
stat2-data =
footnotes =

Rio de Janeiro/Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport Airport codes|GIG|SBGL better known as Galeão International Airport is Rio de Janeiro's major international airport. The second name of the airport is in honor of Brazilian musician Antônio Carlos Jobim.

Built in 1952 on Governador Island, approximately twenty kilometres from the city center, by 1970 the airport was Brazil's major air-hub. In that year, its administration was assumed by Infraero, an agency recently created by the Brazilian government. In 1977, at which time it was receiving all of Brazil's major international flights, the airport underwent a major renovation.

In 1985 the airport lost the title of the country's major international airport to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, due to a drop in passengers to/from abroad. Infraero built a second terminal on the site at a cost of US$600 million, which is capable of handling 7.5 million passengers annually, more than doubling the airport's capacity. Until 2004, passenger numbers had remained stable at about 4.5 million per year, but this number has subsequently increased. In 2007, Galeão International Airport handled 10,352,211 passengers and 119,890 aircraft movements, placing it 4th busiest airport in the country in both categories Airport statistics for 2007 http://www.infraero.gov.br/upload/arquivos/movi/mov.operac.1207.pdf] .

Galeão was Infraero's second-most idle and money-losing airport (after Confins International Airport), and was considered by many to be a waste of resources. At the time the new terminal was opened, Guarulhos was overloaded, operating at 102% of capacity, against 24% for Galeão. Infraero was criticized for not investing resources appropriately. However, since late 2004, most flights from the overloaded downtown Rio airport Santos Dumont Regional Airport were reassigned to Galeão.

The airport is also a second international hub for Varig.

General information

The airprt contains two terminals (in an elliptical format, with twelve jetways each) capable of handling 7.5 million passengers annually
*2005 — 8.6 million passengers
*2006 — 8.75 million passengers
*2007 — 10,352,211 passengers

Airlines and destinations

*Aerolineas Argentinas (Buenos Aires-Ezeiza)
*Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
*American Airlines (Miami, New York-JFK)
*Avianca (Bogota)
**OceanAir (Curitiba, Brasília, Fortaleza, Juazeiro do Norte, Petrolina, Salvador, São Paulo-Congonhas, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Recife)
*British Airways (London-Heathrow)
*Continental Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)
*Copa Airlines (Panama City)
*Delta Air Lines (Atlanta)
*Gol (Aracaju, Belém, Belo Horizonte-Confins, Belém, Brasília, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Campina Grande, Campo Grande, Curitiba, Córdoba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Foz do Iguaçu, Goiânia, Ilhéus, Joinville, João Pessoa, Juazeiro do Norte, Macapá, Maceió, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Porto Seguro, Porto Velho, Recife, Rosario, São Paulo-Congonhas, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Salvador, São José dos Campos, Vitória)
*Iberia (Madrid)
*LAN Airlines (Santiago de Chile)
**LANExpress (Santiago de Chile)
*Livingston (Milan-Malpensa, Porto Seguro (seasonal))
*PLUNA (Montevideo)
*TACA
**TACA Peru (Lima)
*TAM Brazilian Airlines (TAM Linhas Aéreas) (Belém, Belo Horizonte-Confins, Brasília, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Campinas, Caracas, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Foz do Iguaçu, Londrina, Campo Grande, Fortaleza, João Pessoa, Maceió, Manaus, Miami, Natal, New York-JFK [begins November 1] , Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Porto Alegre, Porto Seguro, Recife, Salvador, São Paulo-Congonhas, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Vitoria)
*TAM Paraguayan Airlines (Asunción, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, São Paulo-Guarulhos)
*TAAG Angola Airlines (Luanda)
*TAP Portugal (Lisbon, Porto)
*United Airlines (Washington-Dulles)
*Varig (Brasília, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Curitiba, Manaus, Miami, Porto Alegre, Salvador, São Paulo-Congonhas, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Vitória, Recife)
*WebJet Linhas Aéreas (Brasília, Belo Horizonte-Confins, Belo Horizonte-Pampulha, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, São Paulo-Guarulhos)

Accidents and incidents

* September 29, 2006: Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, flying from Manaus to Brasilia to Galeão International Airport, collided with a business jet on its first leg, fell, disintegrated in midair, and crashed into the Amazon in Mato Grosso, killing all of the passengers and crew on board.

ee also

* List of the busiest airports in Brazil

References

External links

* [http://www.infraero.gov.br/usa/aero_prev_home.php?ai=213 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão - Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport] (official site, in English)
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