Viracopos airport

Aeroporto Internacional de Viracopos
Characteristics
ICAO code	SBKP
IATA code	VCP
Coordinates	23 ° 0 ′ 27 "  S , 47 ° 8 ′ 4"  W Coordinates: 23 ° 0 ′ 27 "  S , 47 ° 8 ′ 4"  W
Height above MSL	661 m (2169  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	15 km southwest of Campinas, 79 km northwest of São Paulo
Street	Rodovia Santos Dumont / Rodovia dos Bandeirantes / Rodovia Annexuera
Local transport	bus
Basic data
opening	October 19, 1960
operator	Consorcio Aeroportos Brasil SA
surface	1766 ha
Terminals	1
Passengers	▼ 9,223,074 (2018)
Air freight	▲ 241,324 t (2018)
Flight movements	▼ 107,627 (2018)
Start-and runway
15/33	3240 m × 45 m asphalt

The Viracopos Airport ( IATA code : VCP , ICAO code : SBKP ) ( Viracopos means in Portuguese : turn around glasses ) is an international airport in Campinas , Brazil and size as the largest air freight center in South America . For LATAM Cargo Brasil , Viracopos is the main hub for their air freight. Since São Paulo-Guarulhos Airport has been fully utilized and cannot be expanded any further, Viracopos Airport has also become increasingly important for Brazilian passenger traffic.

Location and transport links

The Brazilian airline Azul has a hub in Viracopos.

Viracopos Airport is located 15 km southwest of the city center of Campinas , 79 km northwest of São Paulo and belongs to the Vila Aeroporto district. The airport is located between the Rodovia Bandeirantes and the Rodovia Anhanguera - highway , the São Paulo Cordeirópolis and Brasília with Santos connects. In between there is the Rodovia Santos Dumont , which provides direct access to and from the airport. Before the completion of the Guarulhos airport, which is close to the center, Viracopos served as the international aviation hub for the greater São Paulo region until 1985, as long-haul aircraft could not land at the Congonhas city ​​center airport . With the takeover for civil air traffic and the completion of Guarulhos, Viracopos became the main hub for goods.

meaning

The airport is now the most important cargo airport in the state of São Paulo and the second most important in Brazil. In recent years, passenger traffic has also increased steadily, as the nearby, larger São Paulo-Guarulhos airport can no longer fully expand.

The Brazilian low-cost airline Azul Linhas Aéreas has an aviation hub in Viracopos and connects the Campinas sub-region with most cities in Brazil. There are international flights to Buenos Aires , Fort Lauderdale , Lisbon , Montevideo and Santiago de Chile . The area around Campinas has become the Brazilian Silicon Valley ; Countless technology companies , other industrial companies, research and development facilities and several universities are located here.

In 2011 the airport saw a 50 percent growth in passenger traffic compared to 2010 and it is expected that passenger and cargo traffic will exceed the airport's capacity by 2015 ^[obsolete] , suggesting the possibility of congestion during football World Cup 2014 indicates. The 10 million mark was exceeded in 2015.

Expansion by 2015

The airport was privatized in 2012. From November 14, 2012, the Aeroportos Brasil consortium gradually took over the airport from Infraero. Since mid-February 2013, Viracopos has been completely and exclusively managed by Aeroportos Brasil, together with the terminal.

With a planned generous expansion of the air traffic center, Viracopos will become the largest airport in Brazil. Infraero and the future owner Aeroportos Brasil will be supported by the Dutch airport consultancy Naco . The construction of a second take-off and landing runway should already be started in 2013 ^{[out of date]} - not as originally planned in 2017 .

A new passenger terminal, which initially has a capacity of 14 million passengers, went into operation on October 14, 2014. In the final stage, the capacity will include 25 million passengers, 28 passenger boarding bridges and a total of 72 parking positions. The logistics complex at the airport will also be more than doubled in two phases from 77,400 m² to 177,000 m². The first phase includes the construction of a "Live" - Cargo - terminal and a restricted cargo terminal. In the second phase, the national and international cargo areas will be expanded, which means the construction of a new 10,000 m² courier cargo terminal.

With a planned high-speed line for rail traffic via São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro and with a calculated capacity of 55 million passengers annually, the airport is likely to become the largest in Latin America in the future . The expansion of Viracopos became necessary because the two most important airports in São Paulo, Congonhas and Guarulhos, are already working to the limits of their capacities and their expansion is impossible due to the close proximity to residential areas.

Several international cargo airlines fly to Viracopos several times a week, including Lufthansa Cargo , Cargolux , Lan Chile Cargo , KLM Cargo , Martinair Cargo , Avianca Cargo , TAP Portugal Cargo and FedEx .

origin of the name

There are two versions of the origin of the name Viracopos . The first indicates at the beginning of the century that there had been a misunderstanding between the pastor and the residents of the neighborhood during a fair . This then resulted in a general drinking bout and quarrels, in which the festival booths were torn down or overturned during the utter confusion. The word viracopos ("to turn glasses") later used the priest in sermons to refer to the event.

Another version says that there used to be a bar on the site of the current airport, where drovers regularly met for a cozy exchange of views and also to drink. So "Viracopos" initially gave the district its name and later also for the airport.

Airlines and Destinations

Viracopos Airport is used by the Brazilian airlines Azul Linhas Aéreas , Gol Linhas Aéreas and LATAM Airlines Brasil . The only foreign airline is the French Aigle Azur . Since the low-cost airline Azul Linhas Aéreas uses the airport as a hub , a large part of the passenger volume is due to them.

Mainly domestic flights are carried out. Only Aigle Azur and Azul Linhas Aéreas offer international flights.

Traffic figures

Source: Infraero , Aeroporto Internacional de Viracopos

Traffic figures from the Aeroporto Internacional de Viracopos 2006–2018

year	Passenger volume						Air freight ( tons ) (with airmail )		Flight movements
	National		International		total
2018	8,549,158	0-2.71%	673.916	0+ 23.58%	9,223,074	00-1.17%	241,324	+ 18.12%	107,627	0-5.76%
2017	8,787,308	0-0.86%	545.323	0+ 18.03%	9,332,631	00+0.08%	204.311	+ 20.66%	108,635	0-5.76%
2016	8,863,245	0-8.42%	462.007	0-28.50%	9.325.252	00-9.68%	169.323	0-7.46%	115.276	0-9.51%
2015	9,678,533	0-0.67%	646.125	+524.75%	10,324,658	00+ 4.85%	182.967	-18.05%	127.395	0-3.14%
2014	9,743,432	0+5.51%	103.421	0+ 70.00%	9,846,853	00+5.93%	223.280	0-7.46%	131,531	0+ 3.36%
2013	9,234,514	0+ 5.17%	60,835	0-22.10%	9,295,349	00+ 4.93%	241.287	0+ 4.79%	127.252	+ 10.13%
2012	8,780,290	+17.76%	78.090	0-30.63%	8,858,380	0+ 17.04%	230,250	-14.07%	115,548	+ 15.57%
2011	7,455,815	+38.39%	112,569	+ 164.94%	7,568,384	0+ 39.38%	267,946	0+5.07%	99,982	+ 34.25%
2010	5,387,577		42,489		5,430,066	0+ 61.40%	255.008	+38.03%	74,472	+34.76%
2009	-		-		3,364,404	+ 210.40%	184,745	-17.16%	55,261	+ 70.56%
2008	-		-		1,083,878	00+ 7.74%	223.023	0-2.78%	32,399	+ 10.86%
2007	-		-		1,006,059	0+21.76%	229,402	+32.56%	29,226	+ 16.41%
2006	-		-		826.246		173.056		25.107

Incidents

• On August 15, 1960 in a created Saab Scandia the VASP (Viação Aérea São Paulo) ( air vehicle registration PP-SQS ) on the flight from the airport Viracopos to Uberlandia a fire in the front luggage compartment. The master did not operate the fire extinguishing system because he believed that this would further impair the already poor visibility in the cockpit. During the emergency landing on the return to Viracopos, the machine rolled over the end of the runway and got into an area where construction work was being carried out. All occupants survived, but the aircraft was destroyed.

• On November 23, 1961, a De Havilland DH.106 Comet 4 (LV-AHR) of Aerolíneas Argentinas had an accident shortly after take-off. The plane soared to around 100 meters before losing altitude, colliding with trees, and crashing two kilometers from the airport. The Comet 4 had previously come from Buenos Aires and, after a stopover in Viracopos, was supposed to fly on to New York via Port of Spain . In the crash, 40 passengers and twelve crew members were all killed on board.

• On March 4, 2018, there was an armed robbery on a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F (D-ALCF) from Lufthansa Cargo , which was being processed at the freight terminal. The perpetrators stole a bag that contained cash worth five million US dollars . The bag was originally invited to São Paulo-Guarulhos and was destined for Zurich .

Web links

Commons : Viracopos-Campinas International Airport  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Airport website (English, Portuguese, Spanish)
• Airport data on World Aero Data ( 2006 )
• Airport data in the Aviation Safety Network (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Estatísticas e Publicações. Viracopos.com, accessed August 13, 2019 (Portuguese). 
2. ↑ Viracopos bate recorde de passageiros em 2015 , correio.rac.com.br, from January 7, 2016 (Portuguese)
3. ↑ Peter Dowling: Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos sees double-digit retail growth. In: moodiereport.com. February 25, 2013, accessed May 27, 2013 . 
4. ↑ NACO Netherlands Airport Consultants is to help plan the future of Brazil's Viracopos International Airport ( Memento of the original dated June 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , from February 22, 2012 (en)  
5. ↑ ^{a b} Flights. Viracopos.com, accessed August 13, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Airlines. Viracopos.com, accessed October 27, 2018 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b} Estatísticas. Infraero.gov.br , accessed August 13, 2019 (Portuguese). 
8. ↑ Accident report SAAB Scandia PP-SQS , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 3, 2019.
9. ^ Accident report Comet 4 LV-AHR , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on November 6, 2018.
10. ↑ Gangsters rob Lufthansa Cargo's 5 million freight. aeroTELEGRAPH.com , March 6, 2018, accessed on October 27, 2018 (German). 
11. ↑ Spectacular air cargo heist in Brazil. FlugRevue.de , March 6, 2018, accessed on October 27, 2018 (German).