SBGL
Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport
VFR
-
Name
Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport
-
ICAO / IATA / GPS
SBGL / GIG / SBGL
- Type
- Restriction
- Region
-
Timezone
1:39 am (BRT)
-
Municipality
Rio De Janeiro
-
Coordinates
22° 48′ 35″ S 43° 15′ 2″ W
-
Elevation
28 ft (9 m MSL)
About Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport
Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (IATA: GIG, ICAO: SBGL), popularly known by its original name Galeão International Airport, is the main international airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The airport was originally named after the neighborhood of Galeão: Praia do Galeão (Galleon Beach) is located in front of the original passenger terminal (the present passenger terminal of the Brazilian Air Force). This beach is the location where the galleon Padre Eterno was built in 1663. On January 5, 1999 the name was changed adding a tribute to the Brazilian musician Antonio Carlos Jobim. Galeão Airport is explicitly mentioned in his composition Samba do Avião.
Since August 12, 2014 the airport has been operated by the concessionary Rio Galeão, a consortium formed by the Brazilian investor Odebrecht and Changi Airport Group, with a minority participation of the government owned company Infraero, the previous operator. The new concessionary has been using the brand name RIOgaleão–Aeroporto Internacional Tom Jobim.
Some of its facilities are shared with the Galeão Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.