Florianópolis–Hercílio Luz International Airport , branded ''Floripa Airport'', is the airport serving

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is named after Hercílio Pedro da Luz (1860–1924), three times governor of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Santa Catarina and senator. It is operated by Zurich Airport Brasil. Some of its facilities are shared with the Florianópolis Air Force Base of the

Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...

History

The airport was built on the site of an old Air Naval Base, which operated until 1941, when its jurisdiction changed to the

. Between 1927 and 1932, the then known as Campeche Field was also used by the French aviators of the ''Compagnie Générale Aéropostale'' for its operations in Florianópolis. Among them were

Jean Mermoz Jean Mermoz (9 December 1901 – 7 December 1936) was a French people, French aviator, viewed as a hero by other pilots such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and in his native France, where many schools bear his name. In Brazil, he also is recognized ...

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...

and Henri Guillaumet. SBFL1920

Between 1942 and 1945, the runway 03/21, apron, control tower and passenger terminal were built. At the same time, some facilities of the Florianópolis Air Force Base were built and made operational. In the period between 1952 and 1954, the passenger terminal was rebuilt and was operational until 1976 when a brand-new terminal building and apron were opened. The old facility is today the cargo terminal. The new terminal was further enlarged in 1988 and 2000, reaching the present 8,703 m². In 1978, the runway 14/32 was opened allowing a great increase in traffic. In 1995, the airport was upgraded to international category and started receiving particularly seasonal and charter flights from

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. On March 16, 2017,

Flughafen Zürich AG Flughafen Zürich AG (FZAG), based in Kloten, Switzerland, is the owner and Fixed-base operator, operator of Zurich Airport. It owns, co-owns and runs airports in India, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Curaçao. The mixed-economy stock company was est ...

was granted the concession to operate and expand the airport, owning 100% of it. On January 15, 2018, the new concessionaire began construction of a new terminal with 14 new gates - 3 international and 11 domestic. The cost of the project was BRL 570 million. The new terminal, located on the opposite side of the main runway from the old one, was officially opened on September 28, 2019. The main runway was also extended by , to . Operations using the new terminal started on October 1, 2019. In September 2024,

TAP Air Portugal TAP Air Portugal is the flag carrier of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its airline hub, hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2, ...

began nonstop service to Lisbon, giving Florianópolis its first flight to Europe.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Florianópolis Airport:

Cargo

Statistics

Following is the number of passenger, aircraft and cargo movements at the airport, according to

Infraero Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (abr. Infraero) is a Brazilian government corporation founded in 1973, authorized by Law 5,862, that is responsible for operating the main List of the busiest airports in Brazil, Brazilian com ...

(2007-2017) and Zurich Airport (2018-2023) reports:

Accidents and incidents

*22 March 1951: a Cruzeiro do Sul Douglas C-53D-DO plane, registration PP-CCX while landing at Florianópolis crashed following an overshoot in bad weather and an engine failure. Of the 14 passengers and crew, 3 died. *12 April 1980: a

Transbrasil TransBrasil was a Brazilian airline which ceased operations on 3 December 2001. During most of its history, Transbrasil was owned by local entrepreneur Omar Fontana. Its aircraft usually featured a colorful livery, remarkably with a rainbow on t ...

Boeing 727-27C operating flight 303 registration PT-TYS flying from São Paulo-Congonhas to Florianópolis while on a night instrumental approach to Florianópolis under a severe thunderstorm went off course, struck a hill and exploded. Probable causes are misjudgment of speed and distance, inadequate flight supervision, failure to initiate a go-around and improper operation of the engines. Of the 58 passengers and crew aboard, only 3 passengers survived.

Access

The airport is located from downtown Florianópolis.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hercilio Luz International Airport Airports in Santa Catarina (state) Airports established in 1927 Economy of Florianópolis