SANTOS DUMONT AIRPORT ASSISTANCE

History Santos Dumont International Airport

Originally known as Calabouço Airport, the history of the airport can be traced back to the early 1930s. Until that time, the few aircraft equipped with landing gear used Manguinhos Airport. Seaplanes, which at the time operated the majority of domestic and international flights, used a terminal located at the Calabouço Point, an area known today as Praça Marechal Âncora. Take-off and landings were made using an area of Guanabara Bay then known as estirão do Caju (Caju water stretch). It was as a development of the terminal at Calabouço Point that Calabouço Airport was created. The airport complex was inaugurated on 16 October 1936 and was named Santos Dumont Airport.

In 1934, in order to handle a growing number of land operations, land was reclaimed from the sea to create the first runway of the airport with a length of 1,300 feet (400 m). In 1936, the runway was extended to 2,300 feet (700 m) and on 30 November it received its first commercial flight, a VASP Junkers Jun 52 aircraft flying from São Paulo–Congonhas.

It was also in 1936 that the construction of a new passenger terminal began. It was a project led by the architects MMM Roberto (Marcelo, Milton and Mauricio Roberto Doria-Baptista) inspired in the Paris - Le Bourget Airport terminal. Its pioneering, modernist, architectural features created a Brazilian national landmark. It was only in 1947 that its construction was completed. This building continues to be used to the present day. In the lobby of this terminal, (now the arrivals terminal) two monumental paintings by Cadmo Fausto de Sousa can be seen. Named "Old Aviation" and "Modern Aviation", they feature many old and new means of flying. Both were unveiled in 1951.

A new public terminal building for seaplanes was inaugurated on 29 October 1938.It was a replacement for the original passenger terminal and was used by all airlines except Panair do Brasil and Pan American World Airways,

which used their own facilities. Owing to the obsolescence of seaplanes, it ceased to be used in 1942. Today, this protected building houses the Historical and Cultural Institute of the Brazilian Air Force (INCAER).

Adjoining the original seaplane terminal, Pan American World Airways and its Brazilian subsidiary Panair do Brasil constructed their own dedicated terminal for seaplanes and aircraft with landing gear. This terminal opened in 1937 featuring architecture inspired by the Pan American Seaplane Base and Terminal Building in Miami. It included a passenger terminal, offices and hangars. It remained the headquarters of Panair do Brasil until the airline was forced to cease its operations in 1965. It is now the headquarters of the Third Regional Air Command of the Brazilian Air Force.

Transportation of Santos Dumont International Airport

Santos Dumont Airport has the following transport options:

• Bus: Find several bus options at Santos Dumont Airport.
• Taxi: A taxi ride to Rio de Janeiro city centre is about 20 minutes.
• Light Rail: Light rail services are available at Santos Dumont Airport.
• Transfers: If you want private transportation to and from Rio Janeiro, you can book a transfer.
• Car rental: To rent a car at Santos Dumont Airport is a great choice! Find out more information on our search engine.

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