Natal - Augusto Severo International Airport Aeroporto Internacional Augusto Severo - Natal
Augusto Severo International Airport
IATA: NAT – ICAO: SBNT
Summary
Airport type		Public/Military
Operator		Infraero
Serves		Natal
Location		Parnamirim, Brazil
Elevation AMSL		170 ft / 52 m
Coordinates		05°54′41.10″S 035°14′51.78″W / 5.911417°S 35.2477167°W / -5.911417; -35.2477167
Website		Infraero NAT
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
16L/34R	8,530	2,600	Asphalt
16R/34L	5,905	1,800	Asphalt
12/30	5,987	1,825	Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Passengers			1,894,113
Aircraft Operations			23,015
Metric tonnes of cargo			8,835
Statistics: Infraero Sources: Airport Website

Augusto Severo International Airport (IATA: NAT, ICAO: SBNT) is located in the metropolitan area of Natal, in the municipality of Parnamirim. It is named in honor to the aviator Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão (1864-1902). In 2009, the airport was ranked 17th in terms of transported passengers in Brazil, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country. The airport shares some facilities with Natal Air Force Base.

History

Augusto Severo Airport was originally known as the "Parnamirim Field" and was nicknamed "Trampoline to Victory" for War in 1942, U.S. planes landed in Natal to be replenished and then fly to fight in Africa. Later that name was renamed the city of Natal. When the city of Parnamirim finally became emancipated - in 1958 - is that the nickname came to Parnamirim.

From 1943 to 1945, the airport was used jointly by the United States Army and United States Navy, the Royal Air Force, commercial airlines and by the Brazilian Air Force. The maintenance and security installations were made by the U.S. Army in the South Atlantic (USAFSA).

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

In 2000, the present passenger terminal was built. The terminal is 11,560 m², has 4 jetways, and is capable of handling 1.5 million passengers annually. There are 500 parking places.

On 31 August 2009 Infraero unveiled an ambitious BRL5.3 billion (USD2.8 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 will be held in Brazil. At the occasion it was announced that even though they are venue cities, the plan excluded Salvador and Natal airports because renovations had been recently completed and Infraero considered the airports fit to handle the forthcoming increases in traffic.

Airlines and destinations

a.^ Airline operating regular charter flights.

Accidents and incidents

• 4 July 1946: Bristol Aeroplane Company, a Bristol Freighter 170 registration G-AHJB flying from Bathurst (now Banjul) to Natal on a delivery flight to Argentina, due to fuel shortage, forced the crew to ditch the plane. The crewmembers were rescued by an American Steamer. The probable cause was powerplant failure resulting from shortage of fuel due to faulty navigation. No one died in the accident.

• 7 September 1946: British South American Airways, a Avro 685 York I registration G-AHEW named "Star Leader" flying from London to Buenos Aires via Lisbon, Bathurst (now Banjul), Natal, Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont and Montevideo lost control and crashed shortly after takeoff from Bathurst. The cause of the loss of control cannot be determined with certainty, but that it was due to a mishandling of the controls by the captain is the most likely explanation. All 24 occupants died.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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