
| São Paulo/Guarulhos Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo/Guarulhos Governador André Franco Montoro |
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|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: GRU ICAO: SBGR | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||
| Operator | Infraero | ||
| Location | São Paulo | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 2,459 ft / 750 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 09R/27L | 3,000 | 9,843 | Asphalt |
| 09L/27R | 3,700 | 12,140 | Asphalt |
São Paulo/Guarulhos Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (IATA: GRU, ICAO: SBGR), also known as Cumbica International Airport, is a major Brazilian airport, the country's busiest by passenger traffic, located in the neighborhood of Cumbica, in the city of Guarulhos in metropolitan São Paulo. The airport is located 25 kilometers from São Paulo's downtown.
A hub in South America[1], Guarulhos is Brazil's busiest airport by passenger traffic, handling 18,795,596 passengers and 187,960 aircraft movements in 2007[2]. By cargo traffic, it is the busiest airport in Latin America and the 36th busiest airport in the world. [3] However, this airport was put in the world's third place in number of delayed flights by Forbes magazine in January, 2008. [4]
Comprising 3,425 acres (14 km²), of which 5 km² is urbanized area, the airport's infrastructure has its own highway system: Rodovia Helio Smidt from the airport is connected to Rodovia Presidente Dutra and Rodovia Ayrton Senna.
All passenger traffic is divided between two terminals (TPS1 and TPS2). With 260 check-in counters, the airport is operational 24 hours a day. 39 national and international airlines fly from São Paulo-Guarulhos to 28 different countries, as well as more than 100 cities in Brazil and the world.
Korean Air is the newest airline to operate at the airport, on July 1, 2008, with flights to Los Angeles and Seoul-Incheon. Air Minas was the latest airline to cease operations at the airport, on January 1, 2008, due to a serious financial crisis, low occupation in its flights, and trouble being competitive. Qatar Airways postponed its plans to fly to São Paulo, from the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2008, due to a lack of aircraft.[5]
Airport plans call for the construction of two additional terminals (TPS3 and TPS4) and a third runway, bringing the airport to full capacity for passenger and cargo operations.
On November 28, 2001 a federal law[6] changed the airport name to honor the ex-governor of São Paulo state, André Franco Montoro, deceased in 1999, although the official name is hardly ever used by locals, who normally refer to it as Guarulhos Airport or, even more commonly, just Cumbica, after the Guarulhos neighbourhood and former Brazilian Air Force base that existed at the site before the airport was built.
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The Southeast Regional Administration of Infraero is undertaking a major 1 billion reais development at Guarulhos, which is being financed out of the national growth plan. Central to this is a third terminal, which will add another 12 million passenger capacity to the 17 million of the existing two terminals, a third runway, and an airport express rail link to the city.
The long-term plan also envisages a fourth terminal. The master plan forecasts traffic reaching some 25 million annually by 2013.
The preparation of bids for the construction of the third terminal is in the final stages, with preliminary work due to start before the end of 2007. Construction of the airport express train has also been given high priority. More than 25 Brazilian and international companies have expressed an interest in taking this project forward.
Construction is planned to start in 2008, with completion scheduled for 2010. Planning for a third runway to the north of the present terminal area is at an early stage, awaiting social and environmental impact studies. A second runway at Viracopos/Campinas and a fast train service to the city center are also being discussed.[7]