Augusto Severo International Airport

Augusto Severo International Airport
Aeroporto Internacional Augusto Severo
IATA: NAT – ICAO: SBNT
Summary
Airport type Public/Military
Serves Natal
Location Parnamirim, Brazil
Elevation AMSL 51 m / 167 ft
Coordinates 05°54′30″S 035°14′57″W / 5.90833°S 35.24917°W / -5.90833; -35.24917Coordinates: 05°54′30″S 035°14′57″W / 5.90833°S 35.24917°W / -5.90833; -35.24917
Website Infraero SBNT
Map
SBNT

Location in Brazil

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16L/34R 2,600 8,530 Asphalt
16R/34L 1,800 5,905 Asphalt
12/30 1,825 5,987 Asphalt
Statistics (2013)
Passengers 2,408,206
Aircraft Operations 25,020
Metric tonnes of cargo 10,430
Statistics: Infraero[1]
Sources: Airport Website,[2] ANAC[3]
*IATA code NAT has been transferred to Gov. Aluízio Alves International Airport

Augusto Severo International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional Augusto Severo) (IATA: NAT, ICAO: SBNT), formerly called Parnamirim Airport, was the airport that served Natal, Brazil, located in the adjoining municipality of Parnamirim.

On May 31, 2014 all domestic and international flights moved to Gov. Aluízio Alves International Airport and Augusto Severo was closed to civil aviation.[4][5]

Some of its facilities were shared with the Natal Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force. Since November 24, 1951 the airport is named after the aviator Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão (1864-1902).[6]

History

Before World War II Air France operated a mail service with flying boats and landplanes across the Atlantic from Dakar which routed via Natal: Parnamirim was a combination land and marine airport also used by Pan American World Airways and Panair do Brasil flying boats. In 1940 and 1941 the Italian Airline L.A.T.I. operated a weekly landplane service from Rome to Rio de Janeiro via Recife (mainly southbound) and Natal(mainly northbound) using Savoia-Marchetti tri-motor landplanes until the aircraft were impounded and the service stopped as a result of the intervention of the British secret services in the Americas around the time of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

The airport gained an important role during World War II as a strategic base for aircraft flying between South America and West Africa. Particularly between 1943 and 1945, this facility was used jointly by the Brazilian Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy, the Royal Air Force, and commercial airlines. The maintenance and security installations were made by the U.S. Army in the South Atlantic (USAFSA).

On March 31, 1980, the Ministry of Aeronautics transferred to Infraero the task of managing the airport. On the same date major renovations were completed.

In 2000, the present passenger terminal was built. The terminal is 11,560 m², has 4 jetways, and is capable of handling 1.5 million passengers annually. There are 500 parking places.

On 31 August 2009 Infraero unveiled an ambitious BRL5.3 billion (USD2.8 billion; EUR2.0 billion) investment plan to renovate and upgrade airports of ten cities focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil. At the occasion it was announced that even though Natal is one of the venue cities, the plan excluded its airport because renovations had been recently completed and Infraero considered the airport fit to handle the forthcoming increase in traffic.[7]

Due to the fact that the capacity of the airport does not meet the present demand of passengers, the brand-new Greater Natal International Airport was built at São Gonçalo do Amarante. On May 31, 2014, all domestic flights were moved to the new facility. International flights moved a few days later.[8] The facilities of Augusto Severo are now used only by Natal Air Force Base.

The following airlines served the airport at the time of closure: Arkefly, Avianca Brazil, Azul Brazilian Airlines, Gol Airlines, TAM Airlines, and TAP Portugal.

Accidents and incidents

Access

The airport is located 18 km (11 mi) from downtown Natal.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  1. ↑ "Movimento operacional da rede Infraero de janeiro a dezembro de 2013" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Infraero. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Airport Official Website" (in Portuguese). Infraero.
  3. ↑ "Lista de aeródromos públicos" (in Portuguese). ANAC.
  4. ↑ Aeroporto Augusto Severo é desativado sem cerimônias em Parnamirim
  5. ↑ No RN, Receita Federal libera voos internacionais no novo aeroporto
  6. ↑ "Lei n˚1.374A, de 24 de novembro de 1951" (in Portuguese). Lei Direto. November 24, 1951. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Infraero vai gastar R$5 bi em reforma de aeroportos". Valor Econômico. August 31, 2009. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Veja fotos do aeroporto de São Gonçalo do Amarante" (in Portuguese). Panrotas. June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Accident description LV-ACS". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2011.

External links

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