Pelotas International Airport

João Simões Lopes Neto International Airport (IATA: PET, ICAO: SBPK) is the airport serving Pelotas, Brazil.

João Simões Lopes Neto International Airport

Aeroporto Internacional João Simões Lopes Neto
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorInfraero
ServesPelotas
Elevation AMSL18 m / 59 ft
Coordinates31°42′58″S 052°19′52″W
Websitewww4.infraero.gov.br/aeroportos/aeroporto-internacional-de-pelotas-rs-joao-simoes-lopes-neto/
Map
PET
Location in Brazil
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 1,980 6,496 Concrete
15/33 1,230 4,035 rolled earth
Statistics (2019)
Passengers34,760 2.6%
Aircraft Operations1,597 1.5%
Metric tonnes of cargo42 82.6%
Statistics: Infraero[1]
Sources: Airport Website,[2] ANAC[3]

This airport was named after the regional writer João Simões Lopes Neto (1865 — 1916) and it is operated by Infraero.

History

On June 22, 1927 the city of Pelotas received the first official commercial passenger flight operated by the first Brazilian airline, Varig, founded only a month earlier. The flight Porto Alegre/Pelotas/Rio Grande, operated by an amphibian Dornier Wal, used Pelotas River for landing and take-off operations. However, as early as 1930 a small terminal was built by a grass strip on the site where today is the airport.

In 1935 the airport with all the necessary amenities was officially inaugurated and continues in operation ever since.

In 1997 the whole airport complex was extensively renovated and a new terminal was opened in 1998. In 2001 it was upgraded to international status.

Pelotas is commonly used by the Brazilian Air Force as the last stop in Brazil on its flights to the Brazilian Antarctic Base.

Airlines and destinations

No scheduled flights operate at this airport.

Accidents and incidents
  • 11 January 1949: a SAVAG Lockheed Model 18-10-01 Lodestar registration PP-SAC flying from Pelotas to Porto Alegre crashed just after take-off from Pelotas killing all 8 occupants. Causes are likely to have been fuel contamination.[4]
  • 12 April 1960: a Varig Douglas C-53 registration PP-CDS operating a flight for Cruzeiro do Sul from Pelotas to Porto Alegre collided with two other aircraft, crashed and caught fire after it deviated to the right on take-off and an over correction caused a sharp turn to the left. Of the 22 passengers and crew aboard, 10 died.[5][6]

Access

The airport is located 8 km (5 mi) from downtown Pelotas.

See also

References
  1. "Estatísticas". Infraero (in Portuguese). 20 February 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  2. "Aeroporto Internacional João Simões Lopes Neto". Infraero (in Portuguese). Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  3. "Aeródromos". ANAC (in Portuguese). 15 October 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  4. "Accident description PP-SAC". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  5. "Accident description PP-CDS". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  6. Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Decolagem sinuosa". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 187–189. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.

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