Minister hopes to reopen Porto Alegre airport by Friday

The Brazilian Association of Airlines (Abear) had informed on Friday (3) that the closure of the airport was for an indefinite period, in contrast, the site administrator, Fraport, stipulated a closure of 30 days, with operations being resumed on the 30th of the current month. “To comply with airport legislation, today (6/5), a Notam (Notice to Airman – 'Notice to Airmen') was issued with an end date of 30/5, which is an internationally recognized document, which has the purpose of disclosing temporary changes and restrictions that may have an impact on airline operations. This notice is intended for companies and institutions related to aviation and may be changed at any time. said, in a note, to Fraport.

The minister of ports and airports, Silvio Costa Filho, gave an interview to Globo News, where he said that the Government will wait for the water to recede to assess the real conditions of the space, but that the expectation is that Salgado Filho airport will resume activities later this year. Friday.

Chaotic aerial situation

The situation at the airport in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul is critical. The water has already invaded and submerged the landing and take-off runway. The departure hall and parking lot were also completely submerged, with no possibility, for example, of seeing the ground.

_{Airport waiting area completely flooded (Reproduction/Fraport)}

The southern state of the country has a total of 12 airports. Many of them are used to receive donations and supplies to help the population of Rio Grande do Sul, while others are used to relocate Salgado Filho airport, which remains closed for an indefinite period.

Minister Silvio also highlighted that there are conversations with other airports in Rio Grande do Sul to receive flights from the capital, to minimize the airline cancellation rate. But Abear has already informed that these airports may also have their operation impacted by heavy rains in the state and recommends that passengers contact the respective companies directly to resolve flight cancellations departing or originating from Porto Alegre.

To enter the story

The situation is so critical that 345 of the 496 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul registered a public calamity. Civil Defense estimates that there are more than 120 thousand people homeless and another 20 thousand in shelters, in addition to recording 83 deaths due to the storms until this second (6). “Now I get here and I don't know if I have a home anymore. I left with just my son's clothes. We've never seen anything like this. It was likely to flood, but the water evacuated. Now the water is covering houses” says Tatiane, one of the hundreds of victims of the floods that affect the state.

Meteorological professionals explained that the collapse was caused by three factors that are plaguing the region and that were aggravated by the heavy rains.

Featured Photo: plane stranded on the Salgado Filho runway (Reproduction/Fraport)