Afonso Pena International Airport

Curitiba–Afonso Pena International Airport

Aeroporto Internacional de Curitiba–Afonso Pena
Summary
Airport typePublic
Operator
ServesCuritiba
LocationSão José dos Pinhais, Brazil
Opened24 January 1946; 78 years ago (1946-01-24)
Focus city forAzul Brazilian Airlines
Time zoneBRT (UTC−03:00)
Elevation AMSL911 m / 2,989 ft
Coordinates25°31′54″S 049°10′34″W / 25.53167°S 49.17611°W / -25.53167; -49.17611
Websitewww.ccraeroportos.com.br/curitiba-pr
Map
CWB is located in Paraná
CWB
CWB
Location in Brazil
CWB is located in Brazil
CWB
CWB
CWB (Brazil)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
15/33 2,218 7,277 Asphalt
11/29 1,798 5,899 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers4,799,787 Increase 54%
Metric tonnes of cargo21,058 Increase 5%
Statistics: Infraero[1]
Sources: Airport Website,[2] ANAC,[3] DECEA[4]

Curitiba-President Afonso Pena International Airport (IATA: CWB, ICAO: SBCT) is the main airport serving Curitiba, located in the municipality of São José dos Pinhais, in the state of Paraná. Since July 15, 1985 it is named after Afonso Augusto Moreira Pena (1847–1909), the 6th President of Brazil.[5]

It is operated by CCR.

History[edit]

As was the case with many important Brazilian airports located in strategic points along the coast, Afonso Pena, was built by the Brazilian Air Force Ministry in partnership with the United States Army during the Second World War. However, since its construction was completed only in 1945, shortly before the end of the war, Afonso Pena never saw heavy military movement. On January 24, 1946, it was dedicated as a civil airport.[6]

The original passenger terminal was in use until 1959 when a new terminal was built. This terminal is used until 1996 when the much bigger terminal opened. After the new terminal opened, the older terminal became a cargo terminal.

The unstable weather conditions of the region are the main problem with the airport, particularly fog and smog in the morning hours of winter and the fact that the auxiliary runway 11/29 is too small and plagued with old equipment. There are also plans to upgrade runway 15/33 from an ILS CAT II runway to ILS CAT III.

Since the bottleneck for the airport is the cargo capacity, the main runway was lengthened in 2008 to allow cargo flights to operate with greater loads and the cargo terminal was upgraded.[7]

On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL30 million (USD16 million; EUR11 million) investment plan to upgrade Afonso Pena International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which were held in Brazil, Curitiba being one of the venue cities. The investment included the enlargement of the apron and implementation of taxiways.[8] The terminal is 45,000 m2, has 14 jetways, and is capable of handling 15 million passengers annually. There are 800 parking places. The airport complex includes a small museum, a playcenter and a mall with 60 stores inside the main terminal.

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, Curitiba was considered to be requiring attention, operating between 70% and 85% of its capacity.[9]

Previously operated by Infraero, on April 7, 2021, CCR won a 30-year concession to operate the airport.[10]

Airlines and destinations[edit]

Passenger[edit]

AirlinesDestinations
Aerolíneas Argentinas Buenos Aires–Aeroparque
Azul Brazilian Airlines Belo Horizonte–Confins, Campinas, Campo Grande, Cascavel, Florianópolis, Foz do Iguaçu, Londrina, Maringá, Montevideo, Pato Branco, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos
Seasonal: Porto Seguro, Recife
Azul Conecta Guaíra, Telêmaco Borba, Umuarama, União da Vitória
Seasonal: Blumenau
Gol Transportes Aéreos Belo Horizonte–Confins, Brasília, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Salvador da Bahia, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos
Seasonal: Goiânia
JetSmart Argentina Buenos Aires–Ezeiza (begins 11 July 2024)[11]
JetSmart Chile Seasonal: Santiago de Chile (begins 19 June 2024)[11]
LATAM Brasil Brasília, Foz do Iguaçu, Porto Alegre, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos
LATAM Chile Santiago de Chile

Cargo[edit]

Panoramic view of the passenger terminal
Terminal landside view
AirlinesDestinations
Avianca Cargo Campinas
Cargolux Luxembourg
Cargolux Italia Milan-Malpensa
LATAM Cargo Brasil Miami
LATAM Cargo Chile Santiago de Chile
Lufthansa Cargo Campinas,[12] Frankfurt,[12] Recife[12]
Total Linhas Aéreas Florianópolis, São Paulo-Guarulhos

Statistics[edit]

Year Total passengers % change Cargo
2003 2,407,441 Decrease -10,34% 20,729,587
2004 2,667,402 Increase +10,80% 27,484,969
2005 3,200,535 Increase +19,98% 24,616,883
2006 3,506,360 Increase +9,56% 22,287,767
2007 3,854,118 Increase +9,92% 23,685,980
2008 4,287,771 Increase +11,25% 25,724,.753
2009 4,897,427 Increase +14,22% 23,307,059
2010 5,902,129 Increase +20,51% 27,063,941
2011 6,958,424 Increase +17,90 36,681,151
2012 6,994,059 Increase +0,51% 11,322,053
2013 6,800,816 Decrease -2,76% 11,243,914
2014 7,300,262 Increase +7,79% 13,017,451
2015 7,226,460 Decrease -1,42% 11,772,812
2016 6,339,043 Decrease -12,28% 9,322,162
2017 6,665,391 Increase +5,15% 7,532,987
2018 6,348,071 Decrease -4,76%
2019 6,502,746 Increase +2,44%
2020 2,508,359 Decrease -61,43% 19,233,653
2021 3,111,942 Increase +24,06% 20,003,000
2022 4.799.787 Increase +54,23% 21.057.583
2023 5,635,491 Increase +17,41%

Source:[13]

Accidents and incidents[edit]

  • 16 June 1958: a Cruzeiro do Sul Convair 440-59, registration PP-CEP, flying from Florianópolis to Curitiba, was on final approach procedures to land at Curitiba in bad weather when it was caught in windshear. The aircraft descended and struck the ground. Of the 27 passengers and crew aboard, 24 died. Among the deaths was the Brazilian interim president at that time, Nereu Ramos.[14][15]
  • 3 November 1967: a Sadia Handley Page Dart Herald 214, registration PP-SDJ, flying from São Paulo-Congonhas to Curitiba, collided with a hill during approach to land at Curitiba. All 5 crew members and 21 passengers died. 4 passengers survived.[16][17]
  • 16 August 2000: a VASP Boeing 737-2A1 registration PP-SMG, en route from Foz do Iguaçu to Curitiba, was hijacked by 5 persons demanding the BRL 5 million (approximately US$2.75 million at that time) that the aircraft was transporting. The pilot was forced to land at Porecatu, where the hijackers fled with the money. There were no injuries.[18][19]
  • 26 December 2002: a Brazilian Air Force Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante, registration FAB-2292, en route from São Paulo-Campo de Marte to Florianópolis Air Force Base, crashed while trying to carry out an emergency landing at Curitiba-Afonso Pena. Reportedly, both engines had shut down. The airplane had taken off with insufficient fuel on board to complete the flight to Florianópolis. Of the 16 people on board, 1 crew member and 2 passengers died.[20]

Access[edit]

The airport is located 18 km (11 mi) southeast of downtown Curitiba.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Estatísticas". Infraero (in Portuguese). 14 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Curitiba". CCR Aeroportos (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Aeródromos". ANAC (in Portuguese). 15 October 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Afonso Pena (SBCT)". DECEA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Lei nº 7.343, de 15 de julho de 1985". Presidência da República (in Portuguese). 15 July 1985. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Aeroporto Internacional de Curitiba celebra 78 anos de serviços; gestão comenta melhorias". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Programa de Aceleramento do Crescimento (PAC) em Aeroportos" (in Portuguese). Aviação Brasil. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  8. ^ Rittner, Daniel; Braga, Paulo Victor (31 August 2009). "Infraero vai gastar R$5 bi em reforma de aeroportos". Valor Econômico (in Portuguese). pp. A4. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Governo muda critério de avaliação e 'melhora' desempenho de aeroportos" (in Portuguese). O Estado de S. Paulo. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Governo federal arrecada R$ 3,3 bilhões com leilão de 22 aeroportos". Agência Brasil (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  11. ^ a b "JetSMART será la primera aerolínea low cost en volar hacia Curitiba". Aviacionline (in Spanish). 5 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "Schedule". Lufthansa Cargo. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Aeroporto Internacional de Curitiba (Afonso Pena) - Portal Aviação Brasil". Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Accident description PP-CEP". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  15. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Tesoura de vento". 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. 165–168. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  16. ^ "Accident description PP-SDJ". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  17. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Serra da Graciosa". 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. 256–261. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  18. ^ "Incident description PP-SMG". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  19. ^ Maschio, José (21 August 2000). "PF liga sequestro de avião da VASP à rebelião em penitenciária em Roraima" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  20. ^ "Accident description FAB-2292". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2011.

External links[edit]

Media related to Afonso Pena International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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