The Christmas holiday is already busy at the country’s main airports. GRU Airport, the concessionaire that manages the São Paulo International Airport, in Guarulhos, the largest in the country, with more than 30 million passengers per year, informs that, between the Christmas and New Year holidays, 1.5 million passengers are expected passengers on national and international flights, between December 21, 2023 and January 2, 2024.
Congonhas airport, in the capital of São Paulo, has a schedule of more than 5,800 operations, offering 967,000 seats, between December 22nd and January 2nd. Among the main destinations are Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Brasília, Curitiba, Salvador, Florianópolis, Recife, Navegantes and Goiânia. The data comes from Aena, the concessionaire that manages the terminal and 16 other airports across the country.
At Recife airport, also managed by Aena, 2,600 flights are scheduled, between landing and takeoff, with a movement of 387,000 passengers.
In Brasília, Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport estimates a movement of approximately 1.3 million people throughout the month of December. 8,700 landings and takeoffs are planned and 109 extra flights were included to meet demand during the period, informed Inframérica, the concessionaire that manages the terminal. The 21st and 22nd are expected to have a flow of approximately 42 thousand people, respectively. With movements concentrated from 6am to 10am and from 6pm to 10pm. The 28th and 29th will also be dates with intense movement at the airport facilities with a forecast of around 42 thousand users.
Inframérica, the airport’s administrator, predicts that the flow of people in December 2023 will increase by 1.1% compared to 2022. However, even with the increase in movement, the flow is 16% lower compared to 2019 , before the pandemic.
In relation to international flights, the expectation is for a movement of 58 thousand arrivals and departures from abroad in 370 landings and take-offs at Brasília airport. Passengers can fly directly from Brasília to Lisbon, Miami, Orlando, Buenos Aires, Lima and Panama.
Guidelines
The main guidance from airport concessionaires is for passengers to try to speed up boarding, using, for example, the online check-in system.
Furthermore, it is recommended to arrive at the airport two hours in advance, considering longer queues and stricter security measures.