Salgado Filho International Airport

Salgado Filho International Airport is the airport serving Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is named after the Senator and first Minister of the Brazilian Air Force Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho (1888–1950). It is operated by Infraero.HistorySalgado Filho was originally called São João Federal Airport, after the neighborhood where it is located. In the beginning it was an air club, where the first flights landed on May 31, 1923.In 1932, needing a facility to use its aircraft with landing-gear which were replacing its seaplanes, Varig started using São João Airport as its operational base. However, it was only in 1940 that the first passenger terminal was inaugurated.On October 12, 1951, São João Federal Airport was renamed Salgado Filho Airport, after the Senator and Minister who died the year before on a crash involving a SAVAG aircraft that departed from Porto Alegre.In 1953 the old terminal was incorporated into the maintenance facilities of Varig, a new passenger terminal was opened, and runways were paved. Until that year larger aircraft such as Lockheed L-049 Constellations had to land at Canoas Air Force Base. This new terminal is known as Passenger Terminal 2. It underwent major renovations and enlargements between 1969 and 1971 but unable to cope with the increasing traffic, another brand new facility was built. This new facility was named Passenger Terminal 1 and opened on September 11, 2001. Terminal 2 became underused by general aviation and cargo services.