New Florianópolis Airport Able to Handle Twice as Many Passengers as Old Terminal

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas said the new Florianópolis International Airport has the potential to match the city and also Santa Catarina state.

The new terminal, inaugurated on Saturday, September 28th, will have the capacity to move eight million passengers per year, against four million at the old airport, which will be closed.

“I think passengers will be pleased with what will be provided. It is a piece of modern progress that is up to the potential of Florianópolis and Santa Catarina. We are multiplying by four the capacity of the airport, and certainly this will attract more people here, will allow a greater number of landings and takeoffs, we will be able to increase the supply of flights to Santa Catarina,” said the minister during the inauguration ceremony.

Operations will start 1st of October

Managed by the Swiss group Zurich Aiport, the new terminal will start operating on October 1st, with the first flight scheduled to leave at 4 AM; R$570 (US$142) million were invested in the project.

There are 13 boarding gates and ten boarding bridges, two of which have enough room to receive large aircraft used in intercontinental flights, such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747.

According to the director of Floripa Airport, which is the branch of the Swiss group that will manage the airport, Tobias Markert, the new administration is working to implement this type of international flight.

Last week, the Argentine company Flybondi announced that it would operate flights between Buenos Aires and Florianópolis as soon as December 2019.

“It is an opportunity also to attract international long-distance flights, and Florianópolis already has the potential to do so, but the old airport had its limitations. Now we can work to make this a reality,” said Markert. “Now we can operate aircraft from TAP [the Portuguese airline], for example,” he added.

According to Markert, the construction of the airport has as a goal transforming the space into a meeting place, where people choose to stay longer.

Therefore, in addition to the boarding and deplaning areas, an external space was also built, named Boulevard 14/32, with a food court, services, and entertainment, which should house an agenda of events with shows and exhibitions. The airport also has a panoramic terrace, allowing people to see landings and takeoffs.

“The idea is this: we want to transform this terminal into a place to be. We want to attract the public that is not a passenger, the general public,” he [Markert] said.

With the inauguration of the new terminal, the old one will be deactivated, handling only cargo operations. The new administration is still studying what to do with the aged facilities.

“We haven’t made a decision yet because we haven’t had time to look and study and now, after the inauguration, we’ll have time to look into it more closely,” he said.

More interest in auctions

According to the executive, Zurich Airport, which also manages the airports of Vitória (ES) and Macaé (RJ) in Brazil and has a 25 percent interest in the BH Airport Consortium – administrator of the Confins Airport (BH) -, is interested in participating in other auctions of concessions scheduled by the government.

The next round of auctions is scheduled for 2020 when the government must auction 22 airports. According to Markert, the Swiss group is interested in participating in the bids.

One of the possibilities is to enter the competition for the Southern Block terminals, formed by the airports of São José dos Pinhais (PR), Foz do Iguaçu (PR), Navegantes (SC), Londrina (PR), Joinville (SC), Curitiba (PR), Pelotas (RS), Uruguaiana (RS) and Bagé (RS). “We are interested in all options [planned] for the future in Brazil,” he concluded.

(Source: Agência Brasil)