Brazil’s Florianópolis International Airport handled its first B747-400 freighter when a flight from China arrived with PPE supplies.
The airport, managed by subsidiary of the Zurich Airport Group, last handled asimilar aircraft, a B747-200, when it made a stopover at the airport some 25 years ago.
The latest flight was operated by Terra Avia from Moldova on behalf of a private client.
“Our infrastructure is on the same level as that of the five major airports in the country in cargo handling,” said Ricardo Gesse, general director of management company Floripa Airport.
Gesse said that the state capital of Santa Catarina has “all that it takes” to be a logistical hub in southern Brazil: “Our state has unique conditions for international transportation of goods by air, with one of the most attractive tax incentive programs in Brazil for this segment.”
Said an airport spokesperson: “The renovations of the apron and the runway carried out by Floripa Airport after taking over management of the airport in January 2018, are improvements that qualified the cargo terminal in Florianópolis for operations of such size and guaranteed approval by ANAC (Brazil’s civil aviation authority), in October 2019, for the airport to receive wide body or code E aircraft, such as this jumbo plane.”
Floripa Airport partnered with ground handler dnata, a service not previously offered at the airport serving the capital city.
Added Gesse: “Floripa Airport Cargo is a new player on the international air logistics scene, which, from a domestic standpoint, diversifies available markets, and, at the local level, brings many benefits to the state of Santa Catarina.
“Up until now, international importers have had to bring their air cargo through São Paulo and then use ground transportation to reach Santa Catarina. Now, we are no longer dependent on São Paulo, which reduces import costs and saves time. We now have a new outlook that creates jobs in the region and drives our economy.”
