Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is losing passengers and airlines. During the first half of 2023, GIG handled 3,306,483 passengers, placing it in tenth place by passenger volume, marking a decline from the same period in 2019, when it ranked fourth.
Declining passenger numbers at Galeão have been compounded by economic challenges and security concerns in the Rio metropolitan area, leading travelers and airlines to prefer a more central airport with shorter travel times to major cities. tourist and business destinations.
In our article of May 30, 2022, we announced that to save Galeão, the airport authorities of Rio de Janeiro were planning an aquatic service from Santos Dumont airport, located in town.
We now learn from local media that the Brazilian government is seeking to limit flights from Rio de Janeiro/Santos to Dumont (SDU) to just two destinations as of January 2, 2024, limiting flights to just 400 kilometers in a straight line. SDU will now exclusively serve flights to the city of Vitoria (VIX) and will maintain the air bridge to São Paulo/Congonhas (CGH), a crucial route in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft movements, which is among the busiest. in the world.
Until the proposed law is approved, airlines will continue to operate without restrictions at Santos Dumont. However, Azul, LATAM and Gol have started to reduce their operations at this airport.
