Afonso Pena International Airport Aeroporto Internacional Afonso Pena
The airport and the Japanese Government aircraft (B747-400) at the visit of the Emperor Akihito in 1997.
IATA: CWB – ICAO: SBCT
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Infraero
Serves		Curitiba
Location		São José dos Pinhais, Brazil
Elevation AMSL		2,988 ft / 911 m
Coordinates		25°31′42.51″S 049°10′32.79″W / 25.528475°S 49.175775°W / -25.528475; -49.175775
Website		Infraero CWB
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
11/29	5,905	1,800	Asphalt
15/33	7,267	2,215	Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Passengers			3,907,275
Aircraft Operations			62,563
Metric tonnes of cargo			23,686
Sources: Airport Website [1], Infraero [2]

Afonso Pena International Airport (IATA: CWB, ICAO: SBCT) is Curitiba's major airport, located 18km southeast from the downtown, in the city of São José dos Pinhais. It is one of the most modern Brazilian terminals. The airport includes a small museum, a playcenter and a mini shopping center with 60 stores inside the main terminal. It is located 18km away from Curitiba downtown.

[edit] History

As with many important Brazilian airports, Afonso Pena (named after the former Brazilian President Afonso Pena), was built in the Second World War by the US troops, to provide coverage in the war. In 1974, the airport passed to the administration of Infraero. In 1996, Infraero built a new passenger terminal, and the old terminal was refurbished and is currently being used as a cargo terminal.

The main problems of the airport are the unstable weather conditions of the region, the mist in the morning hours of winter and the auxiliary runway 11/29 which is too small and plagued with old equipment. There are also plans to upgrade runway 15/33 from an ILS CAT II runway to ILS CAT III. The main runway will also be lengthened in 2008 to allow cargo flights to operate with greater loads, and the cargo terminal will be upgraded, since the main bottleneck for the airport is the cargo capacity ^{[3] [4]}.

The terminal is 26,000 m² and has 6 jetways, capable of handling 4.5 million passengers annually. There are 800 parking places.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Panoramic view of the passenger boarding gates and jetbridges

Aerial view of CWB passenger terminal

[edit] Accidents and Incidents

• 16 June 1958: Cruzeiro do Sul, a Convair 440-59 registration PP-CEP flying from Florianópolis to Afonso Pena International Airport was on final approach procedures to land at Curitiba when it was caught in downdrafts. The aircraft descended and struck the ground. Of the 26 passengers and crew aboard, 21 died.

[edit] See also

• List of the busiest airports in Brazil

[edit] References

1. ^ Airport Official Website
2. ^ Infraero Statistics for the Airport
3. ^ "FAB - Afonso Pena International will have its runway lengthened by 375 meters". http://www.fab.mil.br/imprensa/enotimp/2007/08-AGO/enotimp216.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
4. ^ "Avicao Brasil - Upgrading the cargo terminal and main runway of Afonso Pena International". http://www.aviacaobrasil.com.br/noticias/noticias_filtro.php?id=3357&sessao=news&fld_filtro_ano=2007&fld_filtro_mes=01. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
5. ^ Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras Mapa de Rotas. Retrieved on 30 August 2009
6. ^ NHT Linhas Aéreas Mapas e Rotas. Retrieved on 30 August 2009
7. ^ OceanAir - Horários de Voos Retrieved on 30 August 2009
8. ^ TRIP - Horários de Voos Retrieved on 30 August 2009
9. ^ Webjet - Horários de Voos Retrieved on 30 August 2009

[edit] External links

• Airport information for SBCT at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.. Source: DAFIF.
• Airport information for SBCT at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
• Current weather for SBCT at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for CWB at Aviation Safety Network

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