03/06/2024 – 16:21
Salgado Filho International Airport, located in Porto Alegre, should only resume operations at the end of the year, according to estimates this Monday, 3rd, by Fraport, the concessionaire that manages the terminal.
“We are working with the Federal Government to accelerate the resumption of the airport. We are doing our part with several activities that have already started. If the impacts are smaller than initially predicted, let’s hope that the airport will be available by the end of the year”, said Andreea Pal, CEO of Fraport Brasil, in a statement.
According to a report by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, in a meeting with parliamentarians from Rio Grande do Sul, executives from the concessionaire estimate that the airport will reopen in the second half of December.
In a note released after the meeting, Fraport said that it is working to ensure that recovery occurs “as quickly as possible”, but clarified that the process of cleaning the runway is just beginning.
“Cleaning consists of a broad sweep across the entire length of runways, taxiways and aircraft aprons to remove rubble and debris. In parallel, tests and surveys were started to assess the soil’s resistance, from compaction to paving, so that it is technically possible to confirm the impacts caused by the accumulation of water during the last few weeks. This testing period is expected to last approximately 45 days, depending on weather conditions”, he informed.
Closed at the beginning of May after being flooded by the heavy rains that hit Rio Grande do Sul, the airport remains flooded. In the absence of an airport in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the military air base of Canoas, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, has received commercial flights.
Fraport estimates that it will only be possible to detail the needs for interventions on the international airport runway only at the beginning of July. “In relation to the equipment affected by the flood, it is not yet possible to detail the total value of the damage and which equipment will need to be replaced or repaired. Since the waters began to recede, Fraport Brasil has been in permanent contact with insurance companies to assess the scenario, receiving recurring inspections and carrying out an inventory of all items that were impacted”, he added.
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