With unprecedented flooding in Salgado Filho, the government recognizes that it will have to analyze the scenario of a new international airport for Porto Alegre | Gerson Camarotti’s blog

Infraero technicians assess the flooding of Salgado Filho airport as unprecedented, an unprecedented event in international airports in Brazil.

At the moment, part of the airport is experiencing flooding reaching 2.5 m in height. At the time of publishing this post, the water had only receded 10 cm from the time of the flood’s peak. The technicians’ order is to be careful to analyze not only the equipment but also the structure of the track after the water has completely subsided.

As maximum safety is required for aircraft landings and takeoffs, the clue will pay special attention during the inspection.

Salgado Filho Airport should be closed until the end of May

Government members do not hide their perplexity at the fact that one of the country’s most important airports — with international flights to countries such as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay — was flooded.

Privately, federal government technicians recognize that they will have to analyze the need for construction of a new airportfaced with the “new normal”, with extreme weather events.

If this thesis prevails, a new location, safe from flooding, will have to be found for a new runway, which is not simple in a region that is already very populated and has a lot of urban infrastructure, which is the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.

Given the situation, next Monday (13), the Minister of Ports and Airports, Sílvio Costa Filho, will personally travel to Rio Grande do Sul to inspect not only Salgado Filho, but also the regional airports, which will receive new flights to expand the air network in the region, while the capital’s terminal is closed. There is still no date for Salgado Filho to reopen.

The most recent airport built in the country is in Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte, which was opened for the 2014 World Cup. The terminal was installed in an area very far from the capital of Rio Grande do Norte.

The one in Confis, in Belo Horizonte, was built as an alternative to the one in Pampulha, in the center of the capital of Minas Gerais, which currently only receives executive flights.

However, Confins and Natal were not built due to climate change, but rather a need to increase operational capacity, to receive more passengers and flights.