After 148 days, the Canoas Air Base stopped receiving, on Monday morning (21), commercial flights that had been transferred from Salgado Filho Airport, in Porto Alegre.
The end of commercial airline operations at the military base in the metropolitan region of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul occurred after the reopening partial from Salgado Filho, yesterday morning.
Responsible for more than 90% of air traffic in Rio Grande do Sul, Salgado Filho had to be completely closed on May 3 due to the socio-environmental catastrophe that affected more than 2.34 million people and claimed at least 183 lives in almost the entire state and flooded runways and the passenger terminal.
Landings and takeoffs
Salgado Filho spent around 170 days closed, with works not yet fully completed. During this time, airport authorities authorized the Canoas Air Base receiving commercial flights to meet part of the demand. The base was also essential in allowing the movement of aircraft used to rescue and transport flood victims and supplies.
According to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), between May 27 and yesterday, Canoas Air Base recorded more than 1,200 landings and takeoffs, allowing the transport of around 210,000 people prevented from using Salgado Filho.
“With the normalization and reopening of Porto Alegre airport [Salgado Filho]the air base completes a crucial phase that helped mitigate the consequences of the closure of the main hub air transport in Rio Grande do Sul”, commented the corporation, in a note in which it maintains that “the gradual and coordinated resumption of operations in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul fuels the expectation that, soon, the air capacity in the South region will be fully reestablished”, it said the FAB.
