Brasília Airport ended 2022 with a flow of 13.4 million passengers and more than 126,000 takeoffs and landings. The number represents a 28% increase in the movement of people compared to 2021, however, the flow of people is still 19% lower than that recorded in 2019, before the pandemic.
This movement places the terminal in Brasilia as the 3rd busiest airport in the country, behind only the two largest airports in São Paulo.
The recovery of the international movement in 2022 was also important. Three destinations were resumed and, with that, the growth in the number of passengers was 350% greater than 2021. International air traffic was 2,844 landings and takeoffs and the international flow of passengers between departures and arrivals abroad was 407,067 people. Today passengers can fly direct from the federal capital to six destinations: Lisbon with TAP, Panama with Copa Airlines, Cancún, Miami and Orlando with GOL and Buenos Aires with Aerolíneas Argentinas. In March of this year, Latam will once more operate the direct destination to Lima in Peru.
Throughout 2022, Brasília Airport further expanded its commercial mix and during the year, 22 brands opened 25 new businesses at the air terminal. Currently, passengers can find over 140 operations at the airport ranging from shops and cafes to bars and restaurants. In addition, in 2022, Inframerica, the airport’s concessionaire, announced the launch of works on its real estate development project. The expansion of the airport zone is being carried out through partnerships, which include, among other projects, a shopping mall and a logistics center, both of which are already under construction.
The administrator also ends the year with certification level 2, which deals with the reduction of carbon emissions, granted by the International Council of Airports for Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC). The award recognizes Infrarica’s efforts to manage and reduce carbon emissions at the terminal in Brasilia.
Important investments were made by Infraframerica, demonstrating greater environmental responsibility in the operations of the terminal in Brasilia. Over the years, common light bulbs and reflectors have been replaced by LEDs, both in the terminals and in the patio and runway areas, in addition to the adoption of the use of renewable energy sources. The administrator also implemented a Photovoltaic Plant for the production of energy from a solar source that serves to supply part of the consumption of the air terminal. Currently, 7% of the airport’s consumption comes from this plant.
Another important action was the implementation of electricity consumption management, carried out by the Maintenance Control Center – CCM, through an automated system capable of monitoring the airport’s main energy consuming sources. This makes it possible for anomalies to be quickly corrected. In addition, Inframerica, in partnership with Engie, provides electricity and air conditioning to the planes parked at Brasília Airport with renewable energy, replacing the equipment powered by fossil fuels that used to supply them. With this, there is a reduction in carbon emissions, making both airlines and the terminal more sustainable.
A little of history…
Very different from what it is today, the first air terminal in Brasilia was improvised, made of wood, simple and with a dirt track. It was called Vera Cruz Airport. Initially located where the railway station is located, it changed its address to its current location in the 1950s.
And it was on May 3, 1957 that the terminal made its first commercial flight and was officially inaugurated. Pan American made the first route leaving the Central Plateau to New York. On July 22, 1957, VASP inaugurated a regular flight to Belo Horizonte and São Paulo. From 1973 Infraero started to manage the airport and seven years later it began operating the cargo terminal.
In 1999, Brasília airport gained a central body and satellite, nine boarding bridges, thirty check-in counters, three baggage carousels and a fully computerized communications system, making Brasília airport the first intelligent airport in Latin America.
In December 2005, the second landing and take-off runway was delivered, expanding the airport’s operational capacity to 555,000 landings and take-offs per year.
In early February 2012, Infraero installed fifteen new panels in videowall format at the Airport. The equipment, made up of 46-inch LCD monitors, facilitates viewing information regarding scheduled flights at the airport, in addition to showing institutional or videos.
On December 1, 2012, Infrastructurerica took over the Brasília Airport concession under the supervision of Infraero. On that date, the expansion works provided for in the concession contract also began. On March 1, 2013, full management by Infrarica began.
Brasília Airport is the most punctual air terminal in the country among airports that handle more than 10 million passengers a year, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure. The airport in the federal capital was awarded by the agency at the Aeroportos + Brasil event for the punctuality of operations during the year 2021.
In the period, around 78% of the flights that took place over the past year that departed from the Federal District followed within the punctuality margin. A flight is considered punctual when it arrives at its destination or when it takes off less than 15 minutes before the scheduled time.
