Augusto Severo International Airport

Augusto Severo International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional Augusto Severo) (IATA: NAT, ICAO: SBNT), formerly called Parnamirim Airport, was the airport that served Natal, Brazil, located in the adjoining municipality of Parnamirim.

Not to be confused with Augusto C. Sandino International Airport.
Augusto Severo International Airport

Aeroporto Internacional Augusto Severo
Summary
Airport typePublic/military
OperatorInfraero (1980–2014)
ServesNatal
LocationParnamirim, Brazil
ClosedMay 31, 2014 (2014-05-31)
Elevation AMSL52 m / 171 ft
Coordinates05°54′30″S 035°14′57″W
WebsiteInfraero SBNT
Map
NAT is located in Brazil
NAT
NAT
Location in Brazil
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16L/34R 2,600 8,530 Asphalt
16R/34L 1,800 5,905 Asphalt
12/30 1,825 5,987 Asphalt
Statistics (2013)
Passengers2,408,206
Aircraft operations25,020
Metric tonnes of cargo10,430
Statistics: Infraero[1]
Sources: Airport Website,[2] ANAC[3]
*IATA code NAT has been transferred to Gov. Aluízio Alves International Airport

On May 31, 2014, all domestic and international flights were moved to the new Gov. Aluízio Alves International Airport, and Augusto Severo was closed to civil aviation.[4][5]

Some of its facilities were shared with the Natal Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force. From 24 November 1951, the airport was named after the aviator Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão (1864-1902).[6]

History

Before World War II Air France operated a mail service with flying boats and landplanes across the Atlantic from Dakar which routed via Natal. Parnamirim was a combination land and marine airport also used by Pan American World Airways and Panair do Brasil flying boats. In 1940 and 1941 the Italian Airline L.A.T.I. operated a weekly landplane service from Rome to Rio de Janeiro via Recife (mainly southbound) and Natal (mainly northbound) using Savoia-Marchetti tri-motor landplanes until the aircraft were impounded and the service stopped as a result of the intervention of the British secret services in the Americas around the time of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

The airport gained an important role during World War II as a strategic base for aircraft flying between South America and West Africa. Particularly between 1943 and 1945, this facility was used jointly by the Brazilian Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy, the Royal Air Force, and commercial airlines. The maintenance and security installations were made by the U.S. Army in the South Atlantic (USAFSA).

On July 21, 1953, within a law prescribing rules for the naming of airports, the name of the facility was officially and exceptionally maintained as Augusto Severo Airport.[7]

On 31 March 1980, the Ministry of Aeronautics transferred to state-owned airport administrator Infraero the task of managing the airport. On the same date major renovations were completed.

In 2000, the last passenger terminal was built. The terminal was 11,560 m2 (124,431 sq.ft.), had four jet bridges, and was capable of handling 1.5 million passengers annually. There were 500 parking places.

On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled an ambitious BRL5.3 billion (US$2.8 billion; EUR2.0 billion) investment plan to renovate and upgrade airports of ten cities focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was going to be held in Brazil. On that occasion, it was announced that even though Natal was one of the venue cities, the plan did not include Augusto Severo airport because renovations had been recently completed, and Infraero considered the airport fit to handle the forthcoming increase in traffic.[8]

However, the capacity of the airport did not meet the demand of passengers, so the brand-new Greater Natal International Airport was built at the nearby town of São Gonçalo do Amarante. On 31 May 2014, all domestic flights were moved to the new facility. International flights were moved a few days later.[9] The facilities of Augusto Severo are now used only by Natal Air Force Base.

The following airlines served the airport at the time of closure: Arkefly, Avianca Brasil, Azul Brazilian Airlines, Gol Airlines, TAM Airlines, and TAP Portugal.

Accidents and incidents

Access

The airport was located 18 km (11 mi) from downtown Natal.

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. "Movimento operacional da rede Infraero de janeiro a dezembro de 2013" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Infraero. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  2. "Airport Official Website" (in Portuguese). Infraero.
  3. "Lista de aeródromos públicos" (in Portuguese). ANAC. Archived from the original on 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  4. Aeroporto Augusto Severo é desativado sem cerimônias em Parnamirim
  5. No RN, Receita Federal libera voos internacionais no novo aeroporto
  6. "Lei n˚1.374A, de 24 de novembro de 1951" (in Portuguese). Lei Direto. November 24, 1951. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  7. "Lei no 1.909, de 21 de julho de 1953". Presidência da República (in Portuguese). 21 July 1953. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  8. "Infraero vai gastar R$5 bi em reforma de aeroportos". Valor Econômico. August 31, 2009. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  9. "Veja fotos do aeroporto de São Gonçalo do Amarante" (in Portuguese). Panrotas. June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  10. "Accident description LV-ACS". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
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