Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport

Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim

IATA: GIG – ICAO: SBGL
Summary
Airport type		Public/Military
Operator		Infraero
Serves		Rio de Janeiro
Elevation AMSL		9 m / 28 ft
Coordinates
Website		Infraero GIG
Map
GIG Location within greater Rio de Janeiro
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	m	ft	Surface
10/28	4,000	13,123	Concrete
15/33	3,180	10,433	Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Passengers			12,229,513
Aircraft Operations			122,943
Metric tonnes of cargo			78,586
Statistics: Infraero^[1] Sources: Airport Website,^[2] ANAC^[3]

Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (IATA: GIG, ICAO: SBGL) popularly known by its original name Galeão International Airport is the main airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after Praia do Galeão (Galleon Beach), located in front of the original passenger terminal (the present passenger terminal of the Brazilian Air Force) and where in 1663 the galleon Padre Eterno was built; and since January 5, 1999 also after the Brazilian musician Antonio Carlos Jobim:^[4] Galeão Airport is explicitly mentioned in his composition "Samba do avião."

Operated by Infraero, it is the largest airport site in Brazil. In 2010, the airport was ranked 4th in terms of transported passengers and cargo handled, and 6th in aircraft operations in Brazil, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country. Furthermore, it is the 2nd busiest airport in terms of international air traffic in the country.

Some of its facilities are shared with the Galeão Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.

1 History
2 Terminals, airlines and destinations
- 2.1 Passenger
- 2.2 Scheduled cargo
3 Accidents and incidents
- 3.1 Major accidents involving fatalities
- 3.2 Incidents
4 Access
5 Future developments
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

History

The history of the airport begins on May 10, 1923 when a School of Naval Aviation was established near Galeão beach on Governador Island.^[5] On May 22, 1941 with the creation of the Brazilian Air Force Ministry, the school became the Galeão Air Force Base; a terminal and hangars were built and the runway extended. Those buildings still exist and Galeão Air Force Base is still active. When Brazil declared war against the Axis on August 22, 1942, the aerodrome began to be used intensely by the Allies for military operations related to the World War II.^[6]

At the end of the war, Santos Dumont Airport was unable to handle the increased tonnage of aircraft flying on international routes and number of passengers. For this reason, international flights were gradually moved to the site of the Air Force Base. The services were however precarious and a decision was made to build a brand new passenger terminal, opposite to the Air Force Base, across the runway.

On February 1, 1952 the new passenger terminal opened and remained in use with enlargements until 1977. This terminal is presently used by passenger flights operated by the Brazilian Air Force. The cargo terminal (TECA) is also located in the area and all-cargo aircraft usually park at its adjoining apron. The whole complex is now informally known as the "old Galeão."

By 1970 the airport was Brazil's major international and domestic air-hub. In that year, its administration was taken over by Infraero, an agency then recently created by the Brazilian government.

As proof of the airport's prestige, the Concorde made its scheduled maiden-flight with Air France on January 21, 1976, flying from Paris – Charles de Gaulle to Galeão via Dakar. Those twice-weekly flights were discontinued in 1982. Furthermore, the 007 – James Bond production Moonraker (1979) shows the Concorde touching down at Galeão.

On June 6, 1967 in response the growth of the air traffic in Brazil, the Brazilian military government initiated studies concerning the renovation of the airport infrastructure in Brazil. As part of the conclusions of these studies, because of their location, strategic importance, and security issues, new passenger facilities would be constructed in the areas of Galeão Air Force Base in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo Air Force Base in São Paulo.^[7]

On January 20, 1977, when the airport was receiving all of Brazil's major international flights, this new terminal was opened and all scheduled passenger flights were transferred to the new building. This building is known today as Passenger Terminal 1. One of the features dating from this time is the sultry PA system announcements made by Iris Lettieri, which were featured on National Public Radio.^[8]

In 1985 the airport lost the title of the country's major international airport to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport. At that time, a new runway allowing intercontinental flights with no weight restrictions was opened in São Paulo and Brazilian and foreign airlines increasingly used São Paulo as a national and international hub. As a consequence, the number of transiting passengers dropped. Constant efforts were made by the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro to reverse the trend. As a result, after stagnating for years embittered by the loss of domestic flights to Santos Dumont and international flights to São Paulo-Guarulhos Airports, Galeão has – since late 2004 – gradually recovered its importance in the national and international spheres with addition of flights and airlines.

During the year 1991, Passenger Terminal 1 underwent its first major renovation in preparation for the United Nations Earth Summit held in 1992. Its annual capacity was increased to 7,5 million passengers/year. On July 20, 1999 Passenger Terminal 2 was opened. Presently, the airport has those two passenger terminals in elliptical format, each with twelve jetways and capable of handling 7,5 million passengers annually.

On April 26, 2011 it was confirmed that in order to speed-up much needed renovation and up-grade works, private companies will be granted a concession to explore some Infraero airports among them, on a second phase, Galeão.^[9] The plan was confirmed on May 31, 2011 and it was added that Infraero would retain 49% of the shares of each privatized airport and that negotioations are expected to be concluded on the first half of 2012.^[10]

One of the two TAP Maintenance & Engineering centers in Brazil is located at Galeão International Airport.

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Buenos Aires-Aeroparque, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Puerto Iguazú	1C
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle	1C
Alitalia	Rome-Fiumicino	1C
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York-JFK	1B
Avianca	Bogotá	1B
Avianca Brazil	Belo Horizonte-Confins, Fortaleza [begins January 9],^[11], Recife [begins January 9]^[11], São Paulo-Guarulhos	1B
Azul Brazilian Airlines	Belo Horizonte-Confins, Campinas-Viracopos, Cuiabá, Fortaleza, Goiânia, João Pessoa, Navegantes, Porto Alegre, Vitória	1A
British Airways	London-Heathrow	1B
Copa Airlines	Panama City	1C
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta	1B
Emirates	Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Dubai	2B
Gol Transportes Aéreos	Aracaju, Belém-Val de Cães, Belo Horizonte-Confins, Brasília, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Campo Grande, Campinas-Viracopos, Córdoba, Curitiba-Afonso Pena, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Foz do Iguaçu, Goiânia, João Pessoa, Juazeiro do Norte, Londrina, Macapá, Maceió, Manaus, Maringá, Natal, Navegantes, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador da Bahia, Santiago de Chile, São Luís, São Paulo-Congonhas, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Teresina, Uberlândia, Vitória	1A
Gol Transportes Aéreos operated by Varig	Aruba, Caracas, Punta Cana, São Paulo-Guarulhos	1A
Iberia	Madrid	1C
KLM	Amsterdam	1C
LAN Airlines	Santiago de Chile	1B
Lufthansa	Frankfurt	2B
Passaredo Linhas Aéreas	Ribeirão Preto, Uberlândia	1A
PLUNA	Montevideo	2B
TAAG Angola Airlines	Luanda	1B
TACA Perú	Lima	1C
TAM Airlines	Belém-Val de Cães, Belo Horizonte-Confins, Brasília, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Campinas-Viracopos, Caracas, Curitiba-Afonso Pena, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Foz do Iguaçu, Frankfurt, João Pessoa, London-Heathrow, Maceió, Manaus, Miami, Natal, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Petrolina, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador da Bahia, São Luís, São Paulo-Congonhas, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Teresina, Vitória	2A
TAM Airlines operated by Pantanal Linhas Aéreas	Salvador da Bahia, São Paulo-Congonhas	2A
TAM Airlines Paraguay	Asunción, Buenos Aires-Aeroparque	2A
TAP Portugal	Lisbon, Porto	2B
United Airlines	Washington-Dulles	2B
United Airlines	Houston-Intercontinental	1C
US Airways	Charlotte	2B
Webjet	Belo Horizonte-Confins, Brasília, Curitiba-Afonso Pena, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Foz do Iguaçu, Goiânia, Natal, Navegantes, Porto Alegre, Recife, Ribeirão Preto, Salvador da Bahia, Uberlândia	2A
Whitejets ^a	Maceió, Natal, Porto Seguro, Punta Cana	1C

a.^ Airline operating charter flights.

Scheduled cargo

Airlines	Destinations
ABSA Cargo Airline	Belo Horizonte-Confins, Cabo Frio, Campinas-Viracopos, Ciudad del Este, Curitiba-Afonso Pena, Manaus, Miami, Porto Alegre, São Paulo-Guarulhos
LAN Cargo	Amsterdam, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Frankfurt, Miami, Montevideo, Santiago de Chile
LANCO	Bogotá, Lima, Miami, Quito
Rio Linhas Aéreas	Recife, Salvador da Bahia, São Paulo-Guarulhos
VarigLog	Campinas-Viracopos, São Paulo-Guarulhos

Accidents and incidents

Major accidents involving fatalities

April 29, 1952: Pan Am Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10–26 registration N1039V operating flight 202 en route from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to New York via Port of Spain crashed in the jungle in the south of the State of Pará. Probable causes are the separation of no. 2 engine and propeller from the aircraft due to highly unbalanced forces followed by uncontrollability and disintegration of the aircraft. All 50 passengers and crew died.^[12]
July 27, 1952: Pan Am Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10–26 registration N1030V operating flight 201 en route from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Buenos Aires-Ezeiza following pressurization problems during climb, a door blew open, a passenger was blown out and the cabin considerably damaged. One passenger died.^[13]
January 11, 1959: a Lufthansa Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation registration D-ALAK operating flight 502 flying from Hamburg to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão via Frankfurt, Paris-Orly and Dakar crashed during approach under heavy rain at Galeão. The crew descended below minimums. Of the 39 passengers and crew aboard, 3 survived. This was the first accident of Lufthansa after it was re-established.^[14]
December 22, 1959: a VASP Vickers Viscount 827 registration PP-SRG while on approach to land at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão was involved in a mid-air collision with the Brazilian Air Force Fokker S-11 (T-21) registration FAB0742 in the vicinity of Manguinhos Airport. All 32 people on board the Viscount were killed, as were a further ten on the ground. The T-21 pilot parachuted to safety. This accident eventually led to the closure of Manguinhos Airport.^[15]^[16]
August 20, 1962: a Panair do Brasil Douglas DC-8-33 registration PP-PDT flying from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Lisbon overran the runway into the ocean during an aborted take-off. Of the 105 passengers and crew aboard 15 died.^[17]
November 27, 1962: a Varig Boeing 707–441 registration PP-VJB operating flight 810 from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Lima after initiating an overshoot procedure at the suggestion of the control tower because it was too high, proceeded to start another approach when it crashed into La Cruz peak, 8 miles away from Lima Airport. Possibly there was a misinterpretation of navigation instruments. All 97 passengers and crew aboard died.^[18]
June 9, 1973: a Varig cargo Boeing 707-327C registration PP-VJL flying from Campinas-Viracopos to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão while making an instrument approach to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão had technical problems with the spoilers which eventually caused the aircraft to pitch down, descended fast, struck approach lights and ditch. All 6 occupants died.^[19]
July 11, 1973: a Varig Boeing 707-345C registration PP-VJZ operating flight 820 from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Orly made a successful emergency landing at an open field 5 km before landing, after reporting fire in a rear lavatory. However, 123 of the 134 passengers and crew aboard died, overcome by smoke and carbon monoxide poisoning before the aircraft could be evacuated.^[20]
July 26, 1979: a Lufthansa cargo Boeing 707-330C registration D-ABUY operating flight 527 from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Frankfurt via Dakar collided with a mountain 5 minutes after take-off from Galeão. The crew of 3 died.^[21]
June 8, 1982: a VASP Boeing 727–212 registration PP-SRK operating flight 168 from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Fortaleza collided with a mountain while on approach to Fortaleza. The captain descended below a minimum descent altitude. All 137 passengers and crew died.^[22]
January 3, 1987: a Varig Boeing 707-379C registration PP-VJK operating flight 797 from Abidjan to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão crashed due to a failure on engine 1 shortly after take-off. While attempting to return to the airport for an emergency landing, it crashed on a field 18 km away from Abidjan’s airport. Of the 51 passengers and crew aboard, a single passenger survived.^[23]
June 1, 2009: an Air France Airbus 330-203 registration F-GZCP operating flight 447 en route from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Charles de Gaulle disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean 565 km (351 mi) north-east of Natal. All 228 passengers and crew on board died. The official cause of the accident, the worst in the airline's history, is still under investigation, but a possible pitot tube failure has been speculated.^[24]

Incidents

March 3, 1965: a VASP Vickers 701C Viscount registration PP-SRQ was damaged beyond economic repair when the aircraft departed the runway during a simulated engine failure on take-off.^[25]
January 1, 1970: a Cruzeiro do Sul Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VI R en route from Montevideo to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão with 33 occupants aboard was hijacked by 6 persons who demanded to be flown to Cuba. The flight was diverted to Lima, Panama City and arrived in Havana two days later. There were no victims.^[26]
July 1, 1970: a Cruzeiro do Sul Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VI R registration PP-PDX en route from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to São Paulo with 31 occupants aboard was hijacked by 4 persons who demanded the release of political prisoners that were to be taken to Cuba. The aircraft was stormed and the hijackers arrested. There were no victims and the hijacking lasted less than a day.^[27]

Access

The airport is located 20 km (12 mi) north of downtown Rio de Janeiro.

There are executive (blue) and ordinary (yellow) taxis available and bookable on company booths at the arrivals halls.

Real Auto Ônibus operates executive bus 2018, that runs half-hourly (between 05:30 and 22:30 hours), from the airport to the Central Bus Station, Rio de Janeiro downtown, Santos Dumont Airport, and the southern parts of the city along the shore, with final stop at Alvorada Bus Terminal in Barra da Tijuca. Bus 2918 follows a similar schedule to Alvorada Bus Terminal following a different and more direct route. Bus 2145 is an express link between Galeão and Santos Dumont airports via the Central Bus Station and downtown.^[28] Ticket counters for these bus services are located at the arrivals area of both terminals.

Viação 1001 operates bus 761-D from the airport to Niterói.

Gol Airlines offers for its passengers free bus transfers between Galeão and Jacarepaguá Airport located in the neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca at regular times.^[29]

Future developments

On August 31, 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL819 million (USD431 million; EUR302 million) investiment plan to up-grade Galeão International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro being one of the venue cities, and the 2016 Summer Olympics, which Rio de Janeiro will host. The investiment will be distributed as follows:^[30]

Renovation of Passenger Terminal 1. Value 314.9 million. Expected to be completed: February 2011
Completion and renovation of Passenger Terminal 2. Value 284.0 million. Expected to be completed: May 2012
Construction of further parking. Value 220.0 million. Expected to be completed: May 2013

References

^ "Infraero Statistics for the Airport" (in Portuguese). Infraero. http://www.infraero.gov.br/images/stories/Estatistica/2010/dez.pdf.
^ "Airport Official Website" (in Portuguese). Infraero. http://www.infraero.com.br/index.php/br/aeroportos/rio-de-janeiro/aeroporto-internacional-do-rio-de-janeiro.html.
^ "Lista de aeródromos públicos" (in Portuguese). ANAC. http://www2.anac.gov.br/arquivos/pdf/aerodromos/AerodromosPublicos.xls.
^ "Lei n˚ 9.778, de 5 de janeiro de 1999" (in Portuguese). Lei Direto. January 5, 1999. http://www.leidireto.com.br/lei-9778.html. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
^ Instituto Histórico-Cultural da Aeronáutica (1990) (in Portuguese). História Geral da Aeronáutica Brasileira: de 1921 às vésperas da criação do Ministério da Aeronáutica. 2. Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro: Itatiaia and Instituto Histórico-Cultural da Aeronáutica. pp. 58, 66, 558.
^ Pereira, Aldo (1987) (in Portuguese). Breve história da aviação comercial brasileira. Rio de Janeiro: Europa Empresa Gráfica e Editora. pp. 403–405.
^ "Decreto nº 69.784 de 14 de dezembro de 1971" (in Portuguese). Senado federal. 14 december 1971. http://www6.senado.gov.br/legislacao/ListaPublicacoes.action?id=199734. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
^ McCarthy, Julie (March 17, 2007). "The Most Captivating Voice in the World". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8976813. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
^ Bitencourt, Rafael (April 26, 2011). "Governo define concessão de obras em 3 aeroportos, diz Palocci" (in Portuguese). Valor Online. http://www.valoronline.com.br/online/transportes/15/417433/governo-define-concessao-de-obras-em-3-aeroportos-diz-palocci. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
^ Salomon, Marta; Monteiro, Tânia (June 1, 2011). "Governo pretende privatizar três aeroportos e abrir o capital da Infraero" (in Portuguese). O Estado de São Paulo: Economia. http://www.estadao.com.br/estadaodehoje/20110601/not_imp726552,0.php. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Home" (in Portuguese). Avianca Brasil. http://www.avianca.com.br/empresa/site/default.asp. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
^ "Accident description N1039V". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19520429-1. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
^ "Accident description N1030V". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19520727-1. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
^ "Accident description D-ALAK". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19590111-0. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
^ "Accident description PP-SRG and FAB0742". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19591222-2. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^ Pereira, Aldo (1987) (in Portuguese). Breve História da Aviação Comercial Brasileira. Rio de Janeiro: Europa. pp. 205–206.
^ "Accident description PP-PDT". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19620820-0. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
^ "Accident description PP-VJB". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19621127-0. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
^ "Accident description PP-VJL". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19730609-0. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
^ "Accident description PP-VJZ". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19730711-0. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
^ "Accident description D-ABUY". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19790726-1. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
^ "Accident description PP-SRK". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19820608-0. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
^ "Accident description PP-VJK". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19870103-0. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
^ "Accident description F-GZCP". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20090601-0. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
^ "Incident description PP-SRQ". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19650303-0. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
^ "Incident description 1 January 1970". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19700101-0. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
^ "Incident description PP-PDX". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19700701-2. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
^ "Nossas Linhas: Premium" (in Portuguese). Real Auto Ônibus. http://www.realautoonibus.com.br/Site/?/NossasLinhas/Premium/00,,REAL74782720100922063107-12.html. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
^ "Transporte para aeroportos" (in Portuguese). Gol Airlines. http://www.voegol.com.br/pt-br/servicos/transporte-para-aeroportos/paginas/default.aspx. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
^ Rittner, Daniel; Braga, Paulo Victor (August 31, 2009). "Infraero vai gastar R$5 bi em reforma de aeroportos" (in Portuguese). Valor Econômico: pp. A4. http://www.valoronline.com.br.

External links

	Aviation portal
	Brazil portal

Airport information for SBGL at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
Airport information for SBGL at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
Current weather for SBGL at NOAA/NWS
Accident history for GIG at Aviation Safety Network
Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport Photo Archive at airliners.net
Official website from INFRAERO

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