Carrasco/General Cesáreo L. Berisso International Airport is the main

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. It is the country's largest airport and is located in the Carrasco neighborhood of

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. It has been cited as one of the most efficient and traveler-friendly airports in Latin America. 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 The Uruguayan Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya, abbreviated FAU) is the air service branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay. Originally created as part of the National Army of Uruguay, the Air Force was established as a separate branch on Dec ...

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 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 Rafael Viñoly Beceiro (born 1944) is a Uruguayan architect. He is the principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects, which he founded in 1983. The firm has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Manchester, Abu Dhabi, and Buenos Aires. Viñ ...

, 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Regular flights to Spain were resumed in July, and to São Paulo and Santiago in August. Aeropuerto carrasco

Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco - panoramio (54)

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Ground transportation

The airport is located from downtown Montevideo. The airport is served by public transit and a private taxi service which connect to Montevideo and

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

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.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."

Accidents and incidents

*18 September 1957: a

Real Transportes Aéreos Real Transportes Aéreos (acronym to Redes Estaduais Aéreas Limitadas, literal translation: State Air Networks Limited) was a Brazilian airline founded in 1945. It was merged into Varig in 1961, when Varig bought the Consórcio Real-Aerovias-Nac ...

Convair 440-62 registration PP-AQE belonging to

Transportes Aéreos Nacional Transportes Aéreos Nacional was a Brazilian airline founded in 1946. It was merged into Varig in 1961, when Varig bought the Consórcio Real-Aerovias-Nacional, of which Transportes Aéreos Nacional was one of the partners. History Transporte ...

, flying from

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

to Montevideo had an accident during touch down operations in Montevideo. While on a night landing procedure under fog, the aircraft undershot the runway by 1,030m, causing the left and middle gear to hit an earth bank bordering a highway. The right wing touched the ground and further on the aircraft lost both propellers. The right wing then broke off. One crew member died. *6 June 2012: an Air Class Líneas Aéreas Fairchild SA227AC Metro III, registered CX-LAS, performing a freight flight on behalf of DHL from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

disappeared south of

Isla de Flores Isla de Flores is a small Uruguayan island in the Rio de la Plata, south-east of Punta Carretas, Montevideo, Uruguay. The island and 2 nautical miles of water around it were made a national park on February 26, 2018. History Flores was named ...

. Parts of the aircraft were located by a scuba diver approximately south of

on 20 July 2012.

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

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 Potez 25 (also written as Potez XXV) was a French twin-seat, single-engine biplane designed during the 1920s. A multi-purpose fighter-bomber, it was designed as a line aircraft and used in a variety of roles, including fighter and escort mission ...

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: *

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

- Military transport (2) * Embraer C-95 Bandeirante - Light military transport (3) *

Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series ...

- Short distance VIP transport (1) *

CASA C-212 Aviocar The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 w ...

- Tactical transport (4)

No.5 Squadron (Helicopters)

No.5 Squadron operates 3 helicopter types: *

UH-1H The Bell UH-1 Iroquois military helicopter, first introduced in 1959, is the first production member of the prolific Huey family of helicopters, and was itself developed in over twenty variants, which are listed below. XH-40 and YH-40 The firs ...

Iroquois - Utility (6) *

Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Twin Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Quebec, Canada in ...

- Utility (2) * AS-365 Dauphin - VIP transport (1)

Aeronautical Museum Cnel. Jaime Meregalli

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

References

External links

* * *
Tour Virtual 360 Aeropuerto de CarrascoINE map of Colonia Nicolich, Paso Carrasco, Carrasco International Airport, and parts of the municipality of Ciudad de la Costa
{{authority control Airports in Uruguay Airports established in 1947 Buildings and structures in Canelones Department Transport in Montevideo Ciudad de la Costa Rafael Viñoly buildings Uruguayan Air Force bases Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in South America 1947 establishments in Uruguay