More than a month after the floods that hit the city of Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul, 39 aircraft are still at Salgado Filho Airport .
On Saturday (8), the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) authorized the withdrawal of nine of the 47 planes on an “exceptional basis”, without permission for commercial flights with passengers. Of those authorized to leave, only one did not take off due to the airline operator’s choice.
To remove the aircraft, it is necessary for the companies and individuals responsible for the planes to sign up to a liability agreement, in addition to a risk assessment by each air operator for a special flight authorization.
The protocol was adopted together with the Department of Airspace Control (Decea), the air operators and Fraport Brasil, the concessionaire that manages the airport. Withdrawals took place at pre-defined times.
This Sunday (9), the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, released a video on his social networks showing concessionaire employees cleaning the airport facilities.
“Congratulations to all FRAPORT employees who have been committed to accelerating the cleaning of Salgado Filho airport in Porto Alegre”, wrote the minister.
https://x.com/silvio_cfilho/status/1799934479823430081?s=46&t=G65FbacTKXilJCtINkPJRg
Since May 3rd, the airport has had its operations interrupted due to historic rains.
Last week, a delegation formed by the Minister of Support for Reconstruction of Rio Grande do Sul, Paulo Pimenta, and the CEO of Fraport Brasil, Andreea Pal, carried out an inspection to verify the damage caused by the floods.
After the visit, the company informed that the airport should only reopen in December. Despite the forecast, Anac said that regular air operations in Salgado Filho remain suspended indefinitely.
First aircraft to take off
The PT-RQK plane, which had been at the airport complex for more than a month, was the first flight takeoff from the site since the flooding.
The takeoff took place at noon this Saturday and was recorded by the Câmeras Aeroporto Porto Alegre BrAmigos page.
During the flight, pilot Fábio Borille thanked the authorities for their efforts and said via radio.
“For me, as a Gaucho, this takeoff symbolizes the beginning of the construction of our airports,” he said.
The aircraft had made its last flight on May 1st, when it landed at Salgado Filho Airport amid heavy rain.
In an interview with CNN the pilot reported the fear of losing the vehicle in the water which, according to him, reached 1.5 meters at the site.
“When the level dropped, we started work on preserving the engines and removing water from the cylinders,” he says.
Source: CNN Brasil
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