Carrasco/General Cesáreo L. Berisso International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco/General Cesáreo L. Berisso
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAeropuertos Uruguay
ServesMontevideo
LocationCiudad de la Costa, Canelones
Opened1947 (1947)
Hub forAir Class Líneas Aéreas
Elevation AMSL105 ft / 32 m
Coordinates34°50′18″S 56°01′51″W / 34.83833°S 56.03083°W / -34.83833; -56.03083
Websitewww.aeropuertodecarrasco.com.uy
Map
MVD is located in Montevideo
MVD
MVD
Location in the city of Montevideo
MVD is located in Uruguay
MVD
MVD
MVD (Uruguay)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
01/19 2,250 7,382 Asphalt
06/24 3,200 10,499 Asphalt
Statistics (2017, 2010 (cargo))
Passengers2,102,516
Metric tonnes of cargo27,395
Sources: Airport Website [1] SkyVector[2] Google Maps[3]

Carrasco/General Cesáreo L. Berisso International Airport (IATA: MVD, ICAO: SUMU) is the main international airport of Uruguay. It is the country's largest airport and is located in the Carrasco neighborhood of Montevideo. It has been cited as one of the most efficient and traveler-friendly airports in Latin America.[4]

The airport is named after Cesáreo L. Berisso, a pioneer of Uruguayan aviation, and it also hosts an air base of the Uruguayan Air Force.

History

The original passenger terminal was inaugurated in 1947. In 2003 the Uruguayan government transferred the administration, operation and maintenance of the airport to the private investment group Puerta del Sur S.A, which since then invested in several upgrades of the airport.

On 3 February 2007, construction began on a new terminal parallel to Runway 06/24. Runway 01/19 was lengthened to 2,250 metres (7,382 ft) and the former Runway 10/28 was permanently closed because the new terminal cuts across it. The new terminal, designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, has the capacity to handle 3 million passengers a year, including a much larger parking area built for over 1200 vehicles. This new terminal building has four jetways, separate floors for arrivals and departures and a large viewing area on the top floor. The terminal has room for expansion for two additional jetways and a maximum capacity of 6 million passengers per year before the building would need actual enlargement. The new terminal was inaugurated on 5 October 2009 with official operations beginning on 29 December 2009. A new US$15 million cargo terminal was also constructed.

Regular passenger flights were suspended in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular flights to Spain were resumed in July, and to São Paulo and Santiago in August.

The airport serves as the main operational hub of cargo and charter passenger airline Air Class Líneas Aéreas.

View towards the terminal
Terminal exterior
Check-in hall

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aerolíneas Argentinas Buenos Aires–Aeroparque, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza
Seasonal: Mar del Plata, San Carlos de Bariloche
Air Europa Madrid
American Airlines Seasonal: Miami
Avianca Bogotá
Azul Brazilian Airlines Curitiba, Foz do Iguaçu, Porto Alegre, Recife
Seasonal: Florianópolis
Copa Airlines Panama City–Tocumen
Gol Transportes Aéreos São Paulo–Guarulhos
Seasonal: Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Salvador da Bahia
Iberia Madrid
JetSmart Chile Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Santiago de Chile
LATAM Brasil São Paulo–Guarulhos
LATAM Chile Santiago de Chile
LATAM Perú Lima
Paranair Asunción
Sky Airline Salvador da Bahia, Santiago de Chile
Sky Airline Peru Florianópolis, Lima

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Air Class Líneas Aéreas Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Santiago de Chile
Aeromas Buenos Aires–Ezeiza
Avianca Cargo Bogotá
LATAM Cargo Chile Miami, Santiago de Chile
Lufthansa Cargo Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Campinas, Dakar–Senghor, Frankfurt
Western Global Airlines Miami

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at MVD airport. See Wikidata query.
Traffic20182017201620152014201320122011201020082007200620052004
Passengers 2,074,668[5]2,102,5161,870,8531,671,2341,602,3211,561,9401,761,7832,180,0291,654,2701,236,4151,168,1991,102,2991,061,337996,106
Cargo (tons) 27,39524,70024,63324,71226,14925,445

Ground transportation

The airport is located 19 km (12 mi) from downtown Montevideo. The airport is served by public transit and a private taxi service which connect to Montevideo and Punta del Este.[6]

Other facilities

The Oficina de Investigación y Prevención de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviación (OIPAIA) of the National Civil Aviation and Aviation Infrastructure Direction (DINACIA) has its head office on the airport property.[7]

Accidents and incidents

General Cesáreo Berisso Air Base

The General Cesareo Berisso Air Base is a base of the Uruguayan Air Force. It shares runways with the Carrasco International Airport. Most of its facilities are located just east of the old civilian terminal. It is named in honor of Cesáreo L. Berisso, a pioneer of Uruguayan aviation.

Air Brigade I

Potez 25 aircraft

Air Brigade I, one of the three brigades of the Uruguayan Air Force, is stationed at the base. It was created as Aeronáutica n.º 1 in April 1936, when it was assigned 8 Potez 25 fighter aircraft.

Air Brigade I comprises three units:

  • The Central Office of Assistance and the Carrasco Rescue Coordination Center.
  • No. 3 Squadron (Transportation)
  • No. 5 Squadron (Helicopters)

No. 3 Squadron (Transportation)

No. 3 Squadron operates 4 aircraft types:

No.5 Squadron (Helicopters)

No.5 Squadron operates 3 helicopter types:

Colonel Jaime Meregalli Aeronautical Museum

Also on the base is the Colonel Jaime Meregalli Aeronautical Museum, with a hangar for static aircraft display, in addition to a building that exhibits aviation historical material.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Aeropuerto de Carrasco - Montevideo Uruguay". Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Montevideo/Carrasco L Berisso Airport". SkyVector. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "Carrasco International Airport". Google Maps. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "Best Airports in South America 2015". Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Actividad en aeropuerto de Carrasco cae tras cinco años".
  6. ↑ "Airport/Transport". Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "OIPAIA." (Archive) National Civil Aviation and Aviation Infrastructure Direction. Retrieved on 17 April 2012. "Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco Av. Wilson Ferreira Aldunate (ex Cno. Carrasco) 5519."
  8. ↑ "Accident description PP-AQE". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Crash: Air Class SW4 near Flores Island on Jun 6th 2012, aircraft missing". Aviation Herald.com. Retrieved 23 June 2012.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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