The year 2021 was challenging for world aviation and in Brazil it could not be different. The market recovery of airports and airlines continued to be different than expected due to Covid-19, in addition to the impact of the 2nd wave of the virus. The functioning of the market was changed with the home office and new desires of engers.
Brazil ed for more than 62,5 million people flying across the country in 2021. The number represents a growth of 20,4% in comparison with the previous year, when 51,9 million engers had traveled through the country's airports.
However, the amount is still considered far below 2019, when Brazilian aviation almost pinched the 119 million engers transported.
And all this change in the market, with a drastic reduction in corporate travel, also affected the performance of several airports across the country. And we are going to check below a ranking with the 10 busiest of 2021.
all data below are taken from ANAC, and refer to the 12 months and 365 days of 2021, contemplating an annual result.
1 – Guarulhos Airport (SP)
Guarulhos Airport has been at the top of the table for years. Concentrating international flights from São Paulo and a wide domestic network of airlines, the terminal was in first place when serving 23,6 million engers payers in 2021.
There were almost 179 landings and takeoffs of planes of all types on the two runways at Guarulhos Airport in 2021.
In the domestic part, the terminal handled 20,05 million people and 3,5 million engers in the international part. Restrictions on entry into several countries caused international air traffic to have a big drop in 2020 and 2021.
In 2019 Guarulhos Airport transported 42,25 million engers.
2 – Brasília Airport (DF)
Like Guarulhos, Brasília Airport is considered the heart of GOL and LATAM in of flight connectivity. The companies sought to optimize the flight networks as much as possible throughout 2021, and for this reason the terminal jumped one position, ranking 2nd last year.
About 10,3 million engers ed through the two piers and the central part of Brasília Airport in 2021, of which 90,3 thousand boarded international flights.
There were almost 80,3 landings and takeoffs of planes of all types on the two runways at Brasília Airport in 2021.
In 2019, Brasília Airport transported 16,6 million engers.
3 – Campinas Airport (SP)
Main site of operations for Azul Linhas Aéreas, the famous Viracopos Airport (Campinas) had a good performance in 2021, following the growth of David Neeleman's company.
Going up to 3rd place, the terminal moved 9,75 million engers throughout 2021. There were almost 102 landings and takeoffs of planes of all types, ahead of Brasília Airport in this regard.
Azul's international flights transported 190,5 engers from Viracopos last year.
In 2019, Viracopos Airport transported 10,15 million engers. Of all the terminals, it was the one that recorded the smallest drop between 2019 and 2021.
4 – Congonhas Airport (SP)
Congonhas Airport is located close to the center of São Paulo, and due to its location it has great corporate appeal, whether for executive or commercial aviation. Regulated by slots, airlines try to keep their offer of flights on the spot as much as possible, in line with ANAC rules.
And even suffering the impact of the drop in demand for corporate travel, in addition to national aviation in general, Congonhas moved 9,43 million engers throughout 2021.
There were almost 74,8 landings and takeoffs of planes of all types, ahead of Brasília Airport in this regard.
In 2019 Congonhas Airport transported 22,2 million engers. Along with Galeão, it was the biggest drop in this TOP 10 among terminals in the post-pandemic period.
5 – Recife Airport (PE)
The boost in the tourist market paid off throughout 2021, with Recife jumping a few positions to rank 6th, with a total of 7,34 million engers transported in 2021. About 56 thousand engers boarded international flights.
There were almost 65 planes landing and taking off at the Recife airport in 2021. In 2019 Recife Airport transported 8,57 million engers.
6 – Santos Dumont Airport (RJ)
The beautiful carioca terminal confirmed the preference of its engers and, even in a pandemic year with reduced operations on the RJ-SP airlift, managed to close the year with 6,67 million engers transported.
Like Congonhas, Santos Dumont Airport is not authorized for international commercial flights. For this reason, we only have movement data for the domestic market.
There were nearly 59 planes landing and taking off at Santos Dumont Airport in 2021. In 2019, the terminal received 8,93 million engers.
7 – Confins Airport (MG)
Confins Airport managed to stay close to Santos Dumont in the number of engers transported, ing 6,65 million people who ed through its corridors in the last year. Of these, approximately 77 traveled on international flights.
There were almost 64 planes landing and taking off at Confins Airport in 2021. In 2019, the terminal received 10,7 million engers.
Confins Airport is also known for being one of Azul's main hubs, and ing its regional operations in the center-south of the country.
8 – Salvador Airport (BA)
Also benefiting from tourism, and from the numerous connections to cities in the northeast from the terminal, Salvador Airport ended 2021 with an amount of 5,3 million engers attended.
International flights, such as TAP, handled 46,5 engers in Salvador last year.
There were nearly 44,7 planes landing and taking off at Salvador Airport in 2021. In 2019, the terminal received 7,3 million engers.
9 – Porto Alegre Airport (RS)
Porto Alegre is the only airport in the southern region of Brazil in this TOP 10 that we present here. The terminal transported approx. 4,67 million engers in 2021, with 48 traveling on international flights.
There were almost 39 planes landing and taking off at Porto Alegre Airport in 2021. In 2019, the terminal received 8 million engers.
10 – Fortaleza Airport (CE)
Like Recife and Salvador, Fortaleza Airport combined its tourist potential with GOL's hub in 2021 to be among the 10 busiest in the country.
About 3,89 million engers ed through Fortaleza Airport in 2021, with 67 thousand on international flights.
Almost 28,21 planes landed and took off at Fortaleza Airport in 2021. In 2019, the terminal received approximately 7 million engers.
Editor's Note: Galeão Airport ranked 5th in 2019, handling 13,6 million engers. With the large drop in demand for international flights, and a little smaller for domestic flights, the terminal ended 2021 with 3,2 million engers transported.
Compared to 2019, this was the biggest drop in traffic, comparing the country's large airports.
