History
Salgado Filho was originally called São João Airport, after the neighborhood where it is located. In the beginning it was an air club, where the first flights landed on May 31, 1923.
In 1932, needing a facility to use its aircraft with landing-gear which were replacing its seaplanes, Varig started using São João Airport as its operational base. However, it was only in 1940 that the first passenger terminal was inaugurated.
On October 12, 1951, São João Airport was renamed Salgado Filho Airport, after the Senator and Minister who died the year before on a crash involving a SAVAG aircraft that departed from Porto Alegre.
In 1953 the old terminal was incorporated into the maintenance facilities of Varig and a new passenger terminal was opened. This new terminal is presently known as Passenger Terminal 2. It underwent major renovations and enlargements between 1969 and 1971 but unable to cope with the increasing traffic, another brand new facility was built. It was named Passenger Terminal 1 and inaugurated on September 11, 2001. Terminal 2 became underused by general aviation and cargo services.
However, in order to cope with the increasing passenger traffic at the airport, on September 8, 2010 a decision was made to renovate Terminal 2 and bring it back into passenger use. It became operational on December 4, 2010.
The total area of the Salgado Filho Airport is about 3,805,810.04 m² with 142,750 m² of ramp area. Terminal 1 has 37,600 m² and 16 gates with jetways. Terminal 2 has 15,540 m². In front of terminal 1 there is a carpark with 1,440 places. Terminal 1 is the first facility in Latin America with a shopping mall.
One of the two TAP Maintenance & Engineering centers in Brazil is located at Salgado Filho International Airport.
Read more about this topic: Salgado Filho International Airport
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