Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport

Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport (IATA: PLU, ICAO: SBBH) is an airport serving Belo Horizonte, Brazil, located in the neighborhood of Pampulha. Since December 16, 2004 the airport is also named after the Minas Gerais-born poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902–1987).[4]

Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport

Aeroporto da Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade
Summary
Airport typePublic/Military
OperatorInfraero / Minas Gerais
ServesBelo Horizonte
Time zoneTime in Brazil (UTC−03:00)
Elevation AMSL789 m / 2,589 ft
Coordinates19°51′07″S 043°57′02″W
Websitewww4.infraero.gov.br/aeroportos/aeroporto-de-belo-horizonte-pampulha-carlos-drummond-de-andrade/
Map
PLU
Location in Brazil
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13/31 2,364 7,756 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers179,685 13%
Aircraft Operations36,133 7%
Metric tonnes of cargo0.2 95%
Statistics: Infraero[1]
Sources: Airport Website,[2] ANAC[3]

The airport is operated by Infraero.

History

Pampulha Airport was opened in 1933 as a support facility for the passenger flights operated by the Brazilian Air Force between Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza. The first commercial operation started in 1936, when Panair do Brasil was granted a concession to fly between Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.

In 1943 the runway was extended to 1,500m x 45m, in 1953 to 1,700m, and finally in 1961 to 2,505m.

Since 1973 the airport has been operated by Infraero.

With the great increase of traffic at Pampulha Airport, the facility became too small and unable to handle all operations. For this reason, the new Tancredo Neves International Airport was built in the adjoining municipality of Confins. The new facility was opened in 1984.

However, due to the long distance between Belo Horizonte and Confins, Pampulha remained the airport of choice for most airlines, eventually becoming overcrowded, while Confins was under-used. In order to revert this scenario, in March 2005 the government of the state of Minas Gerais with the support of agencies of the Federal government decided to restrict Pampulha to operations of aircraft with capacity of up to 50 passengers.[5] In the months thereafter, most operations were forced to move to Confins and Pampulha gained a new vocation as a hub for regional flights and general aviation.

On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL8.4 million (USD4.4 million; EUR3.1 million) investment plan to upgrade Pampulha Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Brazil, Belo Horizonte being one of the venue cities. The investment was used to:[6] build a new control tower, upgrade general aviation hangars, and enlarge the apron.

On June 17, 2020, the Federal Government signed an agreement to transfer the administration of the airport to the Government of the State of Minas Gerais. The transition period will end on December 31, 2020.[7]

Airlines and destinations

No scheduled flights operate at this airport.

Accidents and incidents

Access

The airport is located 8 km (5 mi) from downtown Belo Horizonte.

See also

References
  1. "Estatísticas". Infraero (in Portuguese). 20 February 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  2. "Aeroporto da Pampulha". Infraero (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. "Aeródromos". ANAC (in Portuguese). 15 October 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  4. "Lei n˚11.002, de 16 de dezembro de 2004" (in Portuguese). Lei Direto. 17 December 2004. Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  5. "Portaria n 189/DGAC, de 8 de março de 2005" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Ministério da Aeronáutica; Departamento de Aviação Civil. 10 March 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  6. Rittner, Daniel; Braga, Paulo Victor (31 August 2009). "Infraero vai gastar R$5 bi em reforma de aeroportos". Valor Econômico (in Portuguese). pp. A4.
  7. "Infraero passa Aeroporto da Pampulha para o estado de Minas Gerais". Agência Brasil (in Portuguese). 17 June 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  8. "Accident description PT-ANO". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  9. Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Serra do Cipó". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 132–139. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
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