Angra dos Reis airport expansion: developing ‘the Brazilian Cancun’

There are resort areas around the world which would like make the leap to being international standard ones but they lack the airport facilities to do that.

One of them is Angra dos Reis in Brazil, with its beaches, islands and historical monuments, and a state park. It lies between Brazil’s two largest cities but accessibility is not easy; it is not even on a passenger rail line, and road travel is difficult.

Now the government has thrown its weight behind a scheme to extend the small general aviation airport there with the ambitious hope that it can one day attract sufficient commercial traffic to allow Angra dos Reis to compete with Mexico’s Cancún in the tourism stakes.

However, there are many impediments along the way to attaining that goal.

Summary: 

• The small Angra dos Reis airport between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo is to be expanded in the hope that the region will be able to rival Cancún as a tourist resort.
• But the airport will still only be able to handle small propeller aircraft.
• The city/resort/region lies between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo but is not easily accessible, as there is no rail service – actual or planned. But a regular bus connection with Rio’s airport would help.
• The airport is not in the national concession programme and it is to be developed as a PPP, with the State retaining responsibility for the runway.
• There are environmental issues to contend with, as ever, but a local consultant believes the project is feasible, especially if Brazil changes its stance on gambling
• The coast around Cabo Frio in Rio de Janeiro state is proposed as a better alternative

View more here: https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/reports/angra-dos-reis-airport-expansion-developing-the-brazilian-cancun-533524