Salgado Filho International Airport

Salgado Filho International Airport Aeroporto Internacional Salgado Filho
IATA: POA ICAO: SBPA WMO: 83971
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Fraport
Serves	Porto Alegre
Focus city for	Azul Brazilian Airlines
Elevation AMSL	3 m / 11 ft
Coordinates	29°59′38″S 051°10′16″W / 29.99389°S 51.17111°W / -29.99389; -51.17111Coordinates: 29°59′38″S 051°10′16″W / 29.99389°S 51.17111°W / -29.99389; -51.17111
Website	infraero.com.br
Map
POA Location in Brazil
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11/29 2,280 7,481 Asphalt
Statistics (2016)
Passengers 7,648,743 8.5% Aircraft Operations 79,738 9.7% Metric tonnes of cargo 18,159 13.1%
Statistics: Infraero Sources: Airport Website,ANAC

Passengers	7,648,743 8.5%
Aircraft Operations	79,738 9.7%
Metric tonnes of cargo	18,159 13.1%

Salgado Filho International Airport (IATA: POA, ICAO: SBPA) is the airport serving Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is named after the Senator and first Minister of the Brazilian Air Force Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho (1888–1950). It is operated by Infraero.

Salgado Filho was originally called São João Federal 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 Federal 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, a new passenger terminal was opened, and runways were paved. Until that year larger aircraft such as Lockheed L-049 Constellations had to land at Canoas Air Force Base. This new terminal is 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. This new facility was named Passenger Terminal 1 and opened 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.