Manaus–Eduardo Gomes International Airport (IATA: MAO, ICAO: SBEG) is an international airport serving Manaus, Brazil. On December 11, 1973, while still under construction, the name of the facility was changed from Supersonic Airport of Manaus (owing to its design enabling Concorde operations[5]) to Eduardo Gomes International Airport, celebrating the Brazilian politician and military figure Air Marshal Eduardo Gomes (1896–1981).[6]
Eduardo Gomes International Airport replaced Ponta Pelada Airport as the main public airport of Manaus in 1976. Ponta Pelada was then renamed Manaus Air Force Base and began handling exclusively military operations.[7]
The construction of the airport began in 1972 and it was commissioned on March 31, 1976 by a domestic flight operated by a Boeing 727-100 of Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul. At the time it was the most modern airport in Brazil and the first one to operate with jet bridges.[8]
The airport has two passenger terminal buildings. Passenger Terminal 1 handles all domestic and international flights and Passenger Terminal 2, opened on March 12, 1985, handles general aviation. Furthermore, the airport has three cargo terminals, opened in 1976, 1980 and 2004. They have a total area of 49,000 square metres (530,000 sq ft) and can process up to 12,000 t/month of cargo. Cargo Terminals 1 and 2 handle goods for export and Cargo Terminal 3 for import.[9]
On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL793.5 million (US$316.1 million; EUR292.2 million) investment plan to upgrade Eduardo Gomes International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which were held in Brazil, Manaus being one of the venue cities. The investment comprised enlargement of apron and existing runway and enlargement and renovation of the passenger terminal.[10]
Responding to critiques to the situation of its airports, on May 18, 2011, Infraero released a list evaluating some of its most important airports according to its saturation levels. According to the list, Manaus was considered to be in good situation, operating with less than 70% of its capacity.[11]
Following is the number of passenger, aircraft and cargo movements at the airport, according to Infraero (2007-2021) and Vinci (2022-2023) reports:[15][16][1]
Year
Passenger
Aircraft
Cargo (t)
2023
2,626,386 4%
40,564 7%
2022
2,725,184 21%
43,437 10%
2021
2,258,780 30%
39,367 28%
100,017 7%
2020
1,737,962 43%
30,717 23%
93,330 21%
2019
3,073,231 9%
40,120 2%
117,723 5%
2018
2,827,615 7%
39,199 6%
111,966
2017
2,645,205
37,030 2%
112,510 1%
2016
2,651,452 19%
37,951 22%
113,861 6%
2015
3,258,157 4%
48,433 12%
121,295 22%
2014
3,389,867 10%
54,862 1%
156,329 7%
2013
3,077,077 2%
55,141 4%
168,299 8%
2012
3,131,150 4%
57,575 2%
156,147 6%
2011
3,019,426 12%
56,298 7%
166,610 6%
2010
2,688,623 17%
52,505 15%
157,157 10%
2009
2,300,022 14%
45,852 2%
142,623 1%
2008
2,021,668 2%
44,823 1%
141,618 17%
2007
2,063,872
44,303
170,132
Accidents and incidents
21 April 1983: three Libyan Air ForceIl-76TDs and a C-130 landed at Manaus airport, after one of the Il-76s developed some technical problems while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft were then searched by the Brazilian authorities. While their cargo was officially declared as medical supplies, the planes were carrying the 17 Aero L-39 Albatros jets, together with guns and parachutes, destined for Nicaragua. The cargo was impounded, while the transports were permitted to return to Libya.[17]
15 December 1994: a TABAEmbraer EMB 110 Bandeirante en route from Carauari and Tefé to Manaus was hijacked by two Colombian citizens. The passengers were released in the proximity of Tabatinga and the aircraft was flown to Colombia. The crew was released at the Brazilian Embassy in Bogotá.[19]
