Campo de Marte Airport is the first airport built in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil, opened in 1929. It is named after

Champ de Mars The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after t ...

, in Paris, which in turn got its name from

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. During a transitional period, the airport is jointly operated by

Infraero Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (abr. Infraero) is a Brazilian government corporation founded in 1973, authorized by Law 5,862,INFRAERO: 40 ANOS SERVINDO PESSOAS, EMPRESAS E O BRASIL. Retrieved 01/10/2014linha%5D/ref> being ...

and XP Inc.

History

Campo de Marte was the first airport built in

, officially opened on July 26, 1929. The airport was bombarded during the 1932

Constitutionalist Revolution The Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 (sometimes also referred to as Paulista War or Brazilian Civil War) is the name given to the uprising of the population of the Brazilian state of São Paulo against the Brazilian Revolution of 1930 whe ...

. On 12 November 1933 a ceremony marking the start-up of scheduled flights of VASP took place at the airport. The first two routes linked Campo de Marte to São Carlos and São José do Rio Preto, and to Ribeirão Preto and Uberaba. It handled all air operations in São Paulo until VASP opened

Congonhas Airport Congonhas (Congonhas do Campo until 1948) is a historical Brazilian city located in the state of Minas Gerais. It is situated south from Belo Horizonte, the capital of state of Minas Gerais, by the highway BR-040. As of 2020, the city had a popul ...

in 1936. VASP considered it a necessary move because of unexpected growing demands, and to avoid a problem of constant flooding by the adjoining

Tietê River The Tietê River ( Portuguese, Rio Tietê, ) is a Brazilian river in the state of São Paulo. The name Tietê was registered for the first time on a map published in 1748 by d’Anville. The name signifies "The truthful river", or "truthful w ...

, particularly the one that happened in 1929. São Paulo Air Force Base was created on 22 May 1941 by Decree 3,302 at Campo de Marte Airport. On 26 January 1945 the base at Campo de Marte was decommissioned and transferred to its present location, then called Cumbica Farm at Guarulhos. Presently it houses the São Paulo Flying School, founded in 1931,

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s and general aviation services. It has limited night operations capability, usually reserved to helicopters. The 4th command of the Brazilian Air Force is also located on the premises. On 11 May 2007,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

canonized the first Brazilian-born saint,

Frei Galvão Anthony of St. Ann Galvão, O.F.M. ( pt, Antônio de Sant'Anna Galvão, ), commonly known in Brazil as Frei (Friar) Galvão (; May 13, 1739 – December 23, 1822), was a Brazilian friar of the Franciscan Order. One of the best-known religious fi ...

, during a mass on the site. Previously operated by

, on August 18, 2022 XP Inc. won a 30-year concession to operate the airport.

Airlines and destinations

No scheduled flights operate at this airport.

Accidents and incidents

*4 November 2007: an Air Taxi Learjet 35A registration PT-OVC crashed over a house in a residential area nearby after a failed takeoff attempt from Campo de Marte, killing the pilot, co-pilot, and 6 people on the ground. *19 March 2016: a private

kit aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

, model Comp Air 9 registration PR-ZRA crashed into one house in the neighborhood of Casa Verde, about one mile after takeoff, killing 7 people onboard and injuring one resident. Among the victims were entrepreneur Roger Agnelli and his family.

Access

The airport is located from downtown São Paulo in the district of Santana.

References

External links