Photo: Elisa Elsie
Natal Airport was built by Inframerica and later opened on May 31, 2014. The air terminal was the first in the country to be granted to the private sector, when the airport concession rounds began in Brazil.
The airport is located 33km from the center of Natal and has a 3,000m x 60m runway and is configured as category F, capable of supporting the operation of the Airbus A380.
Inframerica began managing the Terminal in 2012, with a 28-year concession period. Located in the metropolitan region of Natal, in São Gonçalo do Amarante (RN), the airport has the capacity to receive 6 million passengers per year, has 8 boarding bridges and operates national and international flights.
As of 00:01 on February 19, 2024, Zurich Airport Brasil became the new operator of Natal International Airport, in São Gonçalo do Amarante. To celebrate this moment, the concessionaire received the first landing, after taking over the operation, with the traditional baptism of the aircraft with water jets and carried out a special action with the delivery of gifts to the passengers of the inaugural flight.
In the afternoon, the official ceremony took place to transfer operational responsibility from Inframerica Aeroportos to Zurich Airport International, winner of the re-bidding auction and which now transfers to the group company, Zurich Airport Brasil, the mission of operating the airport for the next 30 years.
For the first months of operation, Zurich Airport Brasil plans to invest around R$3 million in improvements to infrastructure, security, commercial area and passenger experience. Furthermore, a new parking price is now in force – with a reduction of around 30% in the daily rate, from R$56 to R$39.00 for the first night. The contract for the airport’s first VIP lounge has already been signed and it will operate domestically and internationally.
One of the main requests from passengers will already be met by the new operator: with R$1.5 million allocated, the concessionaire will implement improvements to the air conditioning system at the airport. There is also a cleaning and restoration project in all areas of the terminal, which began last weekend and should last around 2 months. Another new feature now available is the free and unlimited internet service, which allows passengers to remain online 24 hours a day.
The total investment planned for the next 5 years is R$50 million.
In Latin America, the Swiss group is present in 5 operations in Brazil: it has 100% of the concession of the airports of Natal, Florianópolis, Vitória and Macaé and is the operator of BH Airport, where it makes investments in partnership with Infraero and CCR Aeroportos. Furthermore, it is the operator of Bogotá Airport, in Colombia, and holds 100% of the concessions for 2 airports in Chile – Iquique and Antofagasta. In the Caribbean, it is the operator of Curaçao Airport, where it has partnerships with CCR Aeroportos and Janssen de Jong Caribbean Airport.
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