Pinto Martins International Airport

Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport
Aeroporto Internacional Pinto Martins – Fortaleza
External view
IATA: FORICAO: SBFZ
Summary
Airport type Public/Military
Operator Infraero
Serves Fortaleza
Elevation AMSL 25 m / 82 ft
Coordinates
Website Infraero FOR
Map
FOR
Location in Brazil
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13/31 2,545 8,350 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Passengers 5,072,786
Aircraft Operations 62,570
Metric tonnes of cargo 49,408
Statistics: Infraero[1]
Sources: Airport Website,[2] ANAC[3]

Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (IATA: FORICAO: SBFZ) is the airport serving Fortaleza, Brazil. It is named after Euclides Pinto Martins (1892–1924) a Ceará-born aviator, who in 1922 was one of the pioneers of the air-link between New York and Rio de Janeiro.

In 2010, the airport was ranked 6th in terms of cargo handled in Brazil, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country. It is operated by Infraero.

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

Contents

History

The airport has its origins on a runway built in the 1930s and which was used by the Ceará Flying School until 2000.

During World War II, the airport was an important allied base supporting the Southern Atlantic operations.

On May 13, 1952 the original name, Cocorote Airport, was changed to its present name. In 1966 a passenger terminal and apron were built. Those facilities are presently used by general aviation operations.

Since January 7, 1974 the airport is operated by Infraero and in 1997 it was upgraded to international category.

In February 1998 a brand-new passenger terminal was opened.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Air Italy Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino
ArkeFly a Amsterdam
Avianca Brazil Brasília, Juazeiro do Norte, Recife [begins January 9][4], Rio de Janeiro-Galeão [begins January 9][4]
Azul Brazilian Airlines Belém-Val de Cães, Belo Horizonte-Confins, Campinas-Viracopos, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont, Salvador da Bahia, São Luís
Gol Airlines Belém-Val de Cães, Brasília, Campinas-Viracopos, Cruzeiro do Sul, Juazeiro do Norte, Manaus, Natal, Porto Velho, Recife, Rio Branco, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Salvador da Bahia, Santarém, São Luís, São Paulo-Congonhas, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Teresina
Passaredo Linhas Aéreas Juazeiro do Norte, Salvador da Bahia, São Paulo-Guarulhos
TACV Praia
TAM Airlines Aracaju, Belém-Val de Cães, Belo Horizonte-Confins, Brasília, Campinas-Viracopos, Curitiba-Afonso Pena, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Porto Velho, Recife, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Salvador da Bahia, Santarém, São Luís, São Paulo-Congonhas, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Teresina, Vitória
TAP Portugal Lisbon
Webjet Belo Horizonte-Confins, Curitiba-Afonso Pena, Natal, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Salvador da Bahia

a.^ Airline operating regular charter flights.

Accidents and incidents

Access

The airport is located 6 km (4 mi) south of downtown Fortaleza.

Future developments

On August 31, 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL525 million (USD276.6 million; EUR193.8 million) investiment plan to up-grade Pinto Martins International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, Fortaleza being one of the venue cities. The investiment will be distributed in the renovation and enlargement of passenger terminal, apron, and parking with completion due in November 2013.[6]

See also

References

External links

Aviation portal
Brazil portal