Belo Horizonte International Airport

Belo Horizonte/Confins–Tancredo Neves International Airport, formerly called Confins International Airport, is the primary international airport serving Belo Horizonte, located in the municipality of Confins. Since 2 September 1986, the airport is named after Tancredo de Almeida Neves (1910–1985), President-elect of Brazil.[4]

Belo Horizonte/Confins–Tancredo Neves International Airport

Aeroporto Internacional Belo Horizonte/Confins–Tancredo Neves
Summary
Airport typePublic
Operator
  • Infraero (1984–2014)
  • BH Airport (2014–present)
ServesBelo Horizonte
LocationConfins, Brazil
Hub forAzul Brazilian Airlines
Focus city forGol Transportes Aéreos
Time zoneBRT (UTC−03:00)
Elevation AMSL827 m / 2,713 ft
Coordinates19°37′28″S 043°58′19″W
Websitesite.bh-airport.com.br/SitePages/pt/Home.aspx
Map
CNF is located in Brazil
CNF
CNF
Location in Brazil
CNF is located in South America
CNF
CNF
CNF (South America)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16/34 3,600 11,811 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers9,537,289 Increase 38%
Aircraft Operations91,206 Increase 37%
Statistics: BH Airport[1]
Sources: Airport Website,[2] ANAC[3]

It is operated by BH Airport S.A.

History

The airport was built by Infraero and inaugurated in 1984. Its purpose was to lessen the congestion at Pampulha Airport, which at the time was operating at 120% of its capacity of 1.3 million passengers per year. It was expected that by 1990, passenger movement at Confins would be nearly 2 million passengers per year. However, it surpassed the 1 million passenger mark only 22 years later. Presently its maximum operational capacity is 22 million passengers per year.[5]

After its inauguration, just a small fraction of the capacity of Confins was used. This was partly due to its distance from downtown Belo Horizonte and, until recently, to the lack of satisfactory transportation alternatives for the pricey (about US$40) taxi rides. The over-crowded Pampulha Airport remained the airport of choice.

Former Terminal 1

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.[6] In the months thereafter, most operations were forced to move to Confins and the airport gained a new momentum. At that time, 130 flights were transferred from Pampulha to Confins, increasing annual passenger flow from 350,000 to around 3.0 million that year.

The problems related to the distance of Confins to downtown Belo Horizonte were lessened by recent projects such as the improvement of the highway that links the city center to the airport (MG-10 highway), part of a larger project called Linha Verde (Green Line), which seeks to reduce the time needed to reach the airport.[7] Another project called the "Industrial Airport" is underway. In this project the government will exempt tax of businesses interested in settling their operations near the airport.[8]

Its cargo facilities have a capacity of handling 18.000 tones (39.682.000 lb) and the warehouse has 6.400 m2 (68.889 ft²).

The main maintenance facilities of Gol Airlines are located at this airport.[9]

Responding to critiques to the situation of its airports, on May 18, 2011, Infraero released a list evaluating some of its most important airports according to its saturation levels. According to the list, Confins was considered to be requiring attention, operating between 70% and 85% of its capacity.[10]

On 26 April 2011, it was confirmed that in order to speed-up much needed renovation and upgrade works, private companies would be granted a concession to explore some Infraero airports - among them, in a later phase, Confins.[11] The plan was confirmed on 31 May 2011 and it was added that Infraero would retain 49% of the shares of each privatized airport and that negotiations were expected to be concluded in the first half of 2012.[12]

On 22 November 2013, the Brazilian Government had a bidding process to determine the operator of the airport from 2014 until 2044. The group Aerobrasil, also known as BH Airport, formed by the Brazilian investment company CCR (75%) and by the Swiss operator Flughafen Zürich AG (25%) won the bid.[13][14]

On 16 September 2015, all international operations were transferred to a new provisional terminal - Terminal 3 while domestic operations remained in Terminal 1.[15]

The construction of Terminal 2 - an extension of Terminal 1 - started in September 2015 and finished in December 2016. It increased the airports capacity to 22 million passengers per year. On 8 December 2016 Terminal 2 was opened for domestic operations and in January 2017 international operations were transferred from Terminal 3. With the transfer of operations, Terminal 3 was closed.[16]

Future developments

On 31 August 2009, the previous concessionary, Infraero, unveiled a BRL342.3 million (US$180.3 million; EUR126.4 million) investment plan to upgrade Tancredo Neves International Airport, focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The investment was supposed to be distributed as follows:[17]

  • Parking. Value 6.8. Completed: July 2010[18]
  • Extension of runway, enlargement of apron and cargo terminal, construction of further taxiways. Value 120.0. Completed.
  • Renovation of the passenger terminal. Value 215.5.

As of March 2016, only the parking lot and the apron expansion works have been completed. After many successive postponements due to budget cuts and judicial disputes between the airport administration, Infraero, the federal government and the contractors, the lengthening of the runway to 3,600 metres (11,800 ft) was completed in June 2016.[19]

As part of the concession, BH Airport committed itself to construct a new parallel runway with a length of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), connecting taxiways and service roads as well as a multi-storey car park until 2020.[20]

On 26 January 2023, along with its announcement of its weekly service to Curaçao, Azul Brazilian Airlines announced its return to the United States, with three weekly flights to Fort Lauderdale and two weekly flights to Orlando, although dates and times have not been announced. They are expected to come towards the end of 2023.[21]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Avianca Bogotá
Azul Brazilian Airlines Aracaju, Araxá (begins 4 December 2023), Barreiras, Belém, Brasília, Cabo Frio, Caldas Novas (begins 9 November 2023), Campina Grande, Campinas, Carajás, Cuiabá, Curaçao, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Fort Lauderdale, Goiânia, Governador Valadares, Guanambi, Ilhéus, Imperatriz, Ipatinga, Jericoacoara, João Pessoa, Juiz de Fora, Lençóis, Maceió, Marabá, Montes Claros, Natal, Orlando, Palmas, Parnaíba, Patos de Minas (begins 4 December 2023), Porto Alegre, Porto Seguro, Porto Velho (begins 30 October 2023),[22] Recife, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão (begins 24 December 2023), Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont (ends 23 December 2023), Salvador da Bahia, São João del-Rei (begins 8 December 2023),[23] São Luís, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Uberaba, Uberlândia, Una-Comandatuba, Teresina (begins 30 October 2023),[22] Vitória, Vitória da Conquista
Seasonal: Foz do Iguaçu, Navegantes, Santarém
Azul Conecta Araxá, Linhares (begins 4 December 2023),[24] Manhuaçu, Paracatu, Patos de Minas, Teófilo Otoni, Varginha
Copa Airlines Panama City–Tocumen
Gol Transportes Aéreos Brasília, Carajás, Maceió, Natal, Porto Seguro, Recife, Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont (ends 30 November 2023), Salvador da Bahia, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos
Seasonal: Aracaju (begins 17 December 2023), Buenos Aires–Ezeiza (begins 16 December 2023), Fortaleza, João Pessoa, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão (begins 1 December 2023)
LATAM Brasil Brasília, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão (begins 2 January 2024), Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont (ends 1 January 2024), São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos
LATAM Chile Santiago de Chile (begins 29 October 2023)
TAP Air Portugal Lisbon
Voepass Linhas Aéreas Seasonal charter: Ilhéus (begins 14 December 2023),[25] Porto Seguro (begins 15 December 2023),[25] Una-Comandatuba (begins 17 December 2023)[25]
Airport interior

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
LATAM Cargo Brasil Campinas, Fortaleza, Miami
Total Linhas Aéreas Fortaleza, Salvador, São Paulo-Guarulhos

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at CNF airport. See Wikidata query.

Accidents and incidents
  • 15 September 2001: a TAM Airlines Fokker 100 registration PT-MRN operating the charter flight 9755, flying from Recife to Campinas-Viracopos, following an uncontrolled engine failure en route to Campinas had 3 cabin windows shattered by fragments of the engine and made an emergency landing at Belo Horizonte-Confins. One passenger was sucked out partly and held by another passenger until the aircraft landed. The passenger did not survive.[26][27]

Access

The airport is located 44 km (27 mi) north of downtown Belo Horizonte. It is regularly served by buses, taxis and Executive Airport Shuttle Buses. When using buses, transfer to the subway of Belo Horizonte is possible.

See also

References
  1. "Estatísticas e Publicações". BH Airport (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  2. "Aeroporto Internacional de Belo Horizonte". BH Airport (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  3. "Lista de aeródromos públicos". ANAC (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  4. "Lei nº 7.534, de 2 de setembro de 1986". Presidência da República (in Portuguese). 2 September 1986. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  5. url=http://www.bh-airport.com.br/novoaeroporto/ Archived 20 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "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.
  7. "Linha Verde: O maior conjunto de obras em Belo Horizonte (Green Line: The greatest set of construction works in Belo Horizonte)" (in Portuguese). Sociedade Mineira de Engenheiros. 1 June 2001. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  8. "Governo e iniciativa privada debatem aeroporto industrial (Government and private enterprise debate the industrial airport)" (in Portuguese). Governo de Minas: Secretaria de Estado de Desenvolvimento Econômico. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  9. "Brazil MRO sector poised for major expansion". Flightglobal. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  10. "Governo muda critério de avaliação e 'melhora' desempenho de aeroportos" (in Portuguese). O Estado de S. Paulo. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  11. Bitencourt, Rafael (26 April 2011). "Governo define concessão de obras em 3 aeroportos, diz Palocci (Government defines concession of works in 3 airports, says Palocci)" (in Portuguese). Valor Online. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  12. Salomon, Marta; Monteiro, Tânia (1 June 2011). "Governo pretende privatizar três aeroportos e abrir o capital da Infraero (Government intends to privatize three airports and make Infraero's capital public)" (in Portuguese). O Estado de S. Paulo: Economia. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  13. Sakate, Marcelo (27 November 2013). "A privatização decola" [Privatization takes-off]. Veja (in Portuguese). São Paulo. 46 (48): 98.
  14. "BH assina contrato de concessão do Aeroporto Internacional de Belo Horizonte, em Confins" [Belo Horizonte signs the concession contract of the International Airport at Confins] (in Portuguese). 7 April 2014. p. 2. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  15. "Terminal 3 começa a operar no dia 16/9" [Terminal 3 starts operating on September 9] (in Portuguese). bh-airport. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  16. "Linha do Tempo" [Timeline] (in Portuguese). bh-airport. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  17. Rittner, Daniel; Braga, Paulo Victor (31 August 2009). "Infraero vai gastar R$5 bi em reforma de aeroportos" [Infraero is going to spend R$5 bn in airport renovation]. Valor Econômico (in Portuguese). pp. A4. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  18. "Aeroporto de Confins (MG) amplia estacionamento de veículos" [Confins Airport (MG) expands vehicle parking] (in Portuguese). Jornal de Turismo. 26 July 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  19. Franco, Pedro Rocha (24 January 2016). "Conclusão da expansão da pista de pouso do aeroporto de Confins é novamente adiada" [Completion of Confins airport runway expansion is postponed again]. O Estado de Minas (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  20. "Projeto de Expansão" [Expansion project] (in Portuguese). bh-airport. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  21. "Azul terá voos diretos para Curaçao, Orlando e Fort Lauderdale a partir do Aeroporto de Belo Horizonte". Passageiro de Primeira. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  22. "Hub da Azul, Aeroporto de Confins se consolida como terceiro do Brasil em número de destinos". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  23. "Azul 4Q23 Belo Horizonte Domestic Network Additions". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  24. "Começa a venda dos voos diários da Azul entre Linhares (ES) e Confins (MG) com aviões de 9 assentos". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 5 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  25. "Voepass e CVC terão voos em Belo Horizonte em dezembro, na alta temporada". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 9 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  26. "Accident description PT-MRN". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  27. Marra, Lívia (16 September 2001). "Avião da TAM acidentado em Minas havia sido revisado no mês passado" [TAM plane involved in accident in Minas Gerais had been maintenance-checked in the previous month] (in Portuguese). Folha Online. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2011.

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