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Some small airports made sense at the time they were built, but no more (either because planes are bigger now or because construction around the airport was not

Some small airports made sense at the time they were built, but no more (either because planes are bigger now or because construction around the airport was not adequately restricted in ensuing decades. Congonhas in Sao Paulo is an example of this, where it can only handle smaller domestic flights now because of the way the city has grown around it. Here's a satellite photo: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_a65c83caab794facb0d31c09a448e9ee~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.jpg https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_a65c83caab794facb0... (it would be like when you're landing at Reagan airport in DC and descending over the water... except that it's skyscrapers)

rob74 3y ago
...and here's a story about Congonhas airport: https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/culture-of-chaos-the-crash-of-tam-airlines-flight-3054-991a204f0578 https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/culture-of-chaos-the-cra... which reminds me: maybe people don't oppose airports just because of the noise, maybe they're also worried about plane crashes (I know the chance is low, but probably much higher for those living near an airport than for the average passenger).
- eitally 3y ago
  I have several Brazilian friends (mostly in/around Campinas) in SP state who refuse to fly in/out of Congonhas because of that risk. Thankfully now Viracopa is even more convenient and nicer. Honestly, the irritating thing for Americans flying to Brazil is the frequent need to fly into either Rio or SP and then domestically transfer to the other, due to paucity of flight options [at reasonable prices].
marcosdumay 3y ago
Yet, airlines fight deary for slots at Congonhas, because lots of people want really badly to land there. The same can be said for Santos Dumont, that requires specially adapted planes, with reduced capacity to fly there. Or Pampulha that is more extreme, and airlines keep entire models of planes on their fleet just so they can fly there.

rob74 3y ago

...and here's a story about Congonhas airport: https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/culture-of-chaos-the-crash-of-tam-airlines-flight-3054-991a204f0578 https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/culture-of-chaos-the-cra... which reminds me: maybe people don't oppose airports just because of the noise, maybe they're also worried about plane crashes (I know the chance is low, but probably much higher for those living near an airport than for the average passenger).

eitally 3y ago
I have several Brazilian friends (mostly in/around Campinas) in SP state who refuse to fly in/out of Congonhas because of that risk. Thankfully now Viracopa is even more convenient and nicer. Honestly, the irritating thing for Americans flying to Brazil is the frequent need to fly into either Rio or SP and then domestically transfer to the other, due to paucity of flight options [at reasonable prices].

marcosdumay 3y ago

Yet, airlines fight deary for slots at Congonhas, because lots of people want really badly to land there. The same can be said for Santos Dumont, that requires specially adapted planes, with reduced capacity to fly there. Or Pampulha that is more extreme, and airlines keep entire models of planes on their fleet just so they can fly there.