It is one of the ten airports in the country with the most air traffic, and is located adjacent to Rio de Janeiro'sfinancial center. It is named after the Brazilian aviation pioneerAlberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932), and is operated byInfraero.
The Seaplane terminal on the day of its dedication (November 30, 1936).Panair Terminal in the 1940sCrowds gather in front of the airport during the transport of PresidentGetúlio Vargas' body from Rio for burial inSão Borja, 26 August 1954View of Santos Dumont in 1971 withVarig headquartersHistoric waiting area in 2020
Originally known asCalabouço Airport, the history of the airport can be traced back to the early 1930s. Until that time, the few aircraft equipped with landing gear used theManguinhos Airport.Seaplanes, which at the time operated the majority of domestic and international flights, used a terminal located at the Calabouço Point, an area known today as the Praça Marechal Âncora. Take-off and landings were made using an area of theGuanabara Bay then known asestirão do Caju (Caju water stretch). It was as a development of the terminal at the Calabouço Point that the Calabouço Airport was created.[5]
In 1934, land was reclaimed from the sea to create the first runway of the airport with a length of 1,300 feet (400 m). In 1936, the runway was extended to 2,300 feet (700 m) and on 30 November, the airport was officially opened, being named Santos Dumont Airport. The first commercial flight arrived on the same day, aVASPJunkers Ju 52 aircraft flying fromSão Paulo–Congonhas.[6][7]
Pan American World Airways and its Brazilian subsidiaryPanair do Brasil opened their own terminal for seaplanes in 1937. It features architecture inspired by the Panamerican Seaplane Base and Terminal Building in Miami. It remained the headquarters of Panair do Brasil until the airline was forced to cease its operations in 1965. It is now the headquarters of the Third Regional Air Command of theBrazilian Air Force.[6]
In 1938 the construction of a new passenger terminal began. It was a project led by the architects MMM Roberto (Marcelo, Milton and Mauricio Roberto Doria-Baptista) inspired in theParis–Le Bourget Airport terminal. Its pioneering, modernist, architectural features caused it to become a Brazilian national landmark in 1998. It was only in 1945 that the terminal's construction was completed, which was interrupted byWorld War II. This building continues to be used to the present day, but only for arrivals.[8][6]
Also in 1938, the runway was extended from 700 to 1050 meters to satisfy the demand for land aircraft.
In 1947, the runway was extended to 1,350 meters.
The original terminal building, which now handles only arrivals.
On 21 July 1953, within a law prescribing rules for the naming of airports, the name of the facility was officially and exceptionally maintained as Santos Dumont Airport.[9]
On 21 May 1959 a formal agreement betweenVarig,Cruzeiro do Sul, andVASP created anair shuttle service (Portuguese:Ponte Aérea), the first of its kind in the world. This service operated between the Santos Dumont Airport and theSão Paulo–Congonhas and comprised regular hourly departures, common check-in counter, and simplified tickets. The service was an instant success.Transbrasil joined the partnership in 1968. Starting in 1975 the service was operated exclusively by Varig'sLockheed L-188 Electra propjets. In 1999 this service came to an end because airlines decided to operate their own independent services.[10]
With the gradual shift of international operations to theGaleão Airport, opened in 1952, the Santos Dumont airport lost its place as an international hub, and then lost its place as the most important domestic hub in 1960, when the capital of Brazil was moved toBrasília.The airport handles only part of Rio's short-to-medium haul domestic air traffic, and part of itsgeneral aviation and military operations. The airport is famous for having some of the shortest runways on which someBoeing andAirbus aircraft can land. An idea of these operations is given in the007–James Bond filmMoonraker of 1979, in which aLockheed L-188 Electra briefly appears taking-off from the airport.
The new terminal building opened in 2007 and handles all departures.
The airport was heavily damaged in a fire on 13 February 1998, which kept the airport closed until 15 August 1998.[6]
In March 2005, an ordinance restricted the airport's operations to domestic flights, general aviation, andair taxi. Among others, the main limitation centers onturboprop aircraft, with a maximum capacity of 50 seats on regular flights, with the exception of flights to Sao Paulo which operate without restriction.
On 26 May 2007, in time for the2007 Pan American Games, a brand-new, modern extension of the original terminal was opened. This extension handles all departure operations, whilst the original terminal now handles all arrival operations. The new departures terminal increased the total capacity of the airport to 8.5 million passengers/year and added 8 passenger gates. It also introduced a one-of-a-kind climate control system, with the air conditioning installed in the floor to prevent obstruction of the view. The total area was increased from 19,000 m² to 61,000 m².[11]
On 3 September 2009, the operational standards were adjusted; the airport would close between 23:00 and 06:00 hours, and the maximum number of flights per hour was reduced from 23 to 19,[12][13] being one of the five airports with such restrictions in Brazil.[14]
Boarding area in 2019
On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL152.2 million (US$80.2 million; EUR64.5 million) investment plan to upgrade Santos Dumont Airport, particularly the passenger arrivals terminal.[15] The plan focused on the preparations for the2014 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Brazil and Rio de Janeiro being one of the venue cities, and the2016 Summer Olympics. The renovation was completed in 2013.
Whilst this airport is quite conveniently located very close to the city centre, the location is problematic because aircraft haveSugarloaf Mountain on the direct approach path; this means that aircraft have to negotiate the mountainous terrain beyond the two runways by either: a. flying over the bay entrance, then quickly swerving behind Sugarloaf on to the runway glide path, or b. fly over central Rio and negotiate the mountainous terrain not just around Sugarloaf, but also around the central west of Rio.
The Santos Dumont Airport was the secondary airport of Rio de Janeiro, the much largerGaleão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport being the primary facility until 2019. In 2020 positions inverted and in 2022 the Santos Dumont was accounting for approximately 63% of the total traffic ofGreater Rio de Janeiro, spread into three airports. In 2022 Santos Dumont reached 10,178,502 transported passengers whereas Galeão had only 5,895,257.[1][17] In order to control and revert this abnormal trend, on August 10, 2023 the Civil Aviation National Council issued an order to restrict Santos Dumont services to airports located within 400km maximum from Rio de Janeiro and without international services. The resolution came into force on 1 January 2024 and was considered to be provisory, until a balance was reached. Airlines started cancelling and/or moving services to the Galeão in September 2023. Using the opportunity of reduced traffic, the same resolution authorized the upgrade works ofRunway End Safety Areas applyingengineered materials arrestor system.[18][19] Following resistance from the international aviation community, on 8 November 2023 these restrictions were reversed and replaced by an annual cap of 6,5 million passengers starting in 2024.[20]
3 December 1930: aSyndicato Condor seaplaneDornier Wal crashed in theGuanabara Bay while attempting to avoid a collision against another aircraft. Six passengers and four crew members died.[23]
3 May 1934: aSyndicato CondorJunkers W-34 crashed during landing procedures at the Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont. Two crew members died.[24]
27 August 1943: aVASPJunkers Ju 52 flying fromSão Paulo–Congonhas to the Santos Dumont Airport struckNaval Academy building adjacent to the airport shortly after attempting to land under foggy conditions. The aircraft broke in two and one part fell in the water. Of the 21 passengers and crew, three survived.[27][28]
12 September 1954: aCruzeiro do SulDouglas C-47 flying from the Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont to theSão Paulo–Congonhas was forced to return to Rio de Janeiro due to technical problems and bad weather at São Paulo. On finals to Rio de Janeiro the aircraft came in too high. A go around was attempted but the aircraft descended and crashed into theGuanabara Bay. Six passengers out of 30 occupants died.[29]
1 February 1958: aLóide Aéreo NacionalDouglas DC-4 flying toFortaleza, experienced engine failure during takeoff. Takeoff was aborted and 100m before the end of the runway, a tire from the landing gear burst, causing the aircraft to run off the side of the runway and burst into flames. Of the 72 passengers and crew aboard, 5 died.[30][31]
30 December 1958: aVASPSaab 90 Scandia flying from the Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont to theSão Paulo–Congonhas experienced a failure of engine no.1 during the climb after takeoff. The pilot initiated an emergency return to the airport, but during its second turn the aircraft stalled and crashed into theGuanabara Bay. Of the 34 passengers and crew aboard, 20 died.[33][34]
12 April 1972: aVASPNAMC YS-11A flying fromSão Paulo–Congonhas to the Santos Dumont Airport flew into the side of a mountain while on descent 50 km north of Rio de Janeiro due to pilot error. All 25 passengers and crew died.[40][41]
2 December 1959: aPanair do BrasilLockheed L-049/149 Constellation registration PP-PCR operating as Flight 246 en route from the Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont to theBelém-Val de Cans with 44 passengers and crew aboard was seized and hijacked by officers of theBrazilian Air Force and forced to land atAragarças, Goiás. Their intention was to use the aircraft in a bombing of Government buildings inRio de Janeiro, and by thus starting a revolt against PresidentJuscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira. The revolt faded after 36 hours, and the aircraft was commanded to fly toBuenos Aires where the hijackers requested asylum. There were no casualties.[44]
31 October 1966: aVASPVickers Viscount was damaged beyond repair when it overran the runway.[45]
12 August 2010: aBombardier Learjet 55 suffered an electrical failure in route to the Santos Dumont airport, and after landing, had trouble braking, and overshot the runway into the bay. None of the three occupants had major injuries.[47]
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Vizinhança perigosa".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. 33–36.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Colisão com a Escola Naval".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. 54–60.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O senhor do céu".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. 162–164.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Ponte aérea das doze horas".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. 171–173.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Torre de Babel".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. 182–186.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O mistério da ilha dos Ferros".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. 190–193.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O Samurai desaparecido".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. 274–278.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Dia do aviador".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. 291–293.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
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