Afonso Pena International Airport Aeroporto Internacional Afonso Pena
The airport and the Japanese Government aircraft (B747-400) during the visit of the Emperor Akihito in 1997.
IATA: CWB – ICAO: SBCT
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Infraero
Serves		Curitiba
Location		São José dos Pinhais, Brazil
Elevation AMSL		2,988 ft / 911 m
Coordinates		25°31′42.51″S 049°10′32.79″W / 25.528475°S 49.175775°W / -25.528475; -49.175775
Website		Infraero CWB
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
11/29	5,905	1,800	Asphalt
15/33	7,267	2,215	Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Passengers			4,853,733
Aircraft Operations			80,017
Metric tonnes of cargo			23,307
Statistics: Infraero Sources: Airport Website

Afonso Pena International Airport (IATA: CWB, ICAO: SBCT) is the main airport serving Curitiba, Brazil, located in the adjoining municipality of São José dos Pinhais. It is named after Afonso Augusto Moreira Pena, the 6 President of Brazil.

In 2009, the airport was ranked 10 in terms of transported passengers, 8 in terms of aircraft operations, and 9 in terms of cargo handled in Brazil, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country. It is operated by Infraero.

History

As it was the case with many important Brazilian airports located in strategic points along the coast, Afonso Pena, was built by the Brazilian Air Force Ministry in partnership with the United States Army during the Second World War. However since its construction was completed only in 1945, short before the end of the war, Afonso Pena never saw heavy military movement. In 1946 most of its movement comprised civil operations.

The original passenger terminal was in use until 1959 when a brand new terminal was built. This second terminal is today used for cargo operations. In 1996, the present passenger terminal was built.

The main problem of the airport are the unstable weather conditions of the region, particularly mist in the morning hours of winter and the fact that the auxiliary runway 11/29 is too small and plagued with old equipment. There are also plans to upgrade runway 15/33 from an ILS CAT II runway to ILS CAT III.

The main runway was lengthened in 2008 to allow cargo flights to operate with greater loads, and the cargo terminal was upgraded, since the main bottleneck for the airport is the cargo capacity.

The terminal is 26,000 m², has 6 jetways, and is capable of handling 4.5 million passengers annually. There are 800 parking places. The airport complex includes a small museum, a playcenter and a mall with 60 stores inside the main terminal.

Airlines and destinations

Accidents and incidents

• 16 June 1958: Cruzeiro do Sul, a Convair 440-59 registration PP-CEP flying from Florianópolis to Afonso Pena International Airport was on final approach procedures to land at Curitiba when it was caught in downdrafts. The aircraft descended and struck the ground. Of the 26 passengers and crew aboard, 21 died.
• 3 November 1967: Sadia, a Handley Page Dart Herald 214 registration PP-SDJ flying from São Paulo-Congonhas to Afonso Pena International Airport collided with a hill during descent pattern to land at Curitiba. All crew and 21 passengers died, 4 passengers survived.

Access

The airport is located 18 km southeast of Curitiba downtown.

Future developments

On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL30 million (USD16 million; EUR11 million) investiment plan to up-grade Afonso Pena International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, Curitiba being one of the venue cities. The investiment will invested in the enlargement of the apron and implementation of taxiways with completion due in March 2011.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
We don't guarantee the information is fresh and accurate. The data may be wrong or outdated.
For more up-to-date information please refer to other sources.