Torrential rains have unleashed chaos across Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, particularly in its largest city, Porto Alegre.

The rains have caused such severe flooding that Porto Alegre's airport has been temporarily closed. Let's examine what temporary changes have been made to serve travelers from and to the city.

Flooded Airport

The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has been experiencing severe rainfall since late April. Various residents have tragically lost their lives, and over 130 are reported missing. In total, roughly 150,000 people have been displaced due to widespread flooding.

Porto Alegre's Salgado Filho International Airport (POA) sits 30 feet above mean sea level. Therefore, when the floods started battering the city, the airport did not take long to submerge fully.

Images have surfaced, showing the entire airport, terminal, and everything underwater. Scenes show a lone Boeing 727 Freighter sitting in landing gear deep in the water.

The flooding was so bad that boats were used to move between aircraft. Furthermore, the effects of the deluge have prompted Porto Alegre Airport to be closed for the remainder of the year.

Runway 11/29, the sole runway at the airport, needs to be repaired and cleared once conditions improve. LATAM Airlines Brasil said it had dropped 24 daily departures from POA, allocating 12% of that capacity to other domestic and international routes.

LATAM Brasil reported that it would resume more operations as soon as Porto Alegre Airport reopens, not specifying if the full previous schedule would be restored. 

Getting Creative

Porto Alegre Airport served 7.4 million passengers in 2023, a 13% increase from the year prior. The city is home to over one million people, and its overall metropolitan area has over four million, making it Brazil's fifth-largest. That said, there is continuous demand for travel to and from this region.

To compensate for Salgado Filho Airport's closure due to floods, Fraport Brasil, the airport operator, has moved operations to Campo Nossa Senhora de Fátima Airport (QNS), located on Canoas Air Force Base.

Currently, airlines like Azul, LATAM Brasil, and GOL are temporarily operating from Canoas, with flights only to the São Paulo airports: Guarulhos (GRU) and Campinas Viracopos (VCP).

The good news is that Canoas Air Force Base is just up the road from Salgado Filho Airport, which is 9.2 kilometers or just under six miles away.

Since FOA Airport's closure, all departure and arrival procedures have occurred at ParkShopping Canoas, a shopping mall near the Air Force base. After clearing departure procedures, passengers are driven to the base by bus. Similarly, arriving passengers are driven from the base to the mall.

Effective July 15th, the temporary terminal at the mall will be closed, and all departure and arrival procedures will be reverted to Salgado Filho Airport's terminal. Despite this, flights will continue to operate from Canoas Air Force Base, and passengers will continue to be bussed between the two.

Interestingly, Porto Alegre Airport's closure inadvertently boosted tourism in nearby Uruguay. Many travelers still wanting to fly have opted to fly into Uruguay's capital, Montevideo (MVD), and then drive across the border into southern Brazil. This has resulted in a 25% increase in car rentals at Montevideo Carrasco International Airport.

The closure of Porto Alegre's main airport undoubtedly has brought unique challenges to the city. However, shifting flights to the nearby base and housing formalities in a mall show local authorities' creativity and swift collaboration to keep Brazil's aviation industry moving.