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Current operational Airport
Natal has an international airport. This airport is called 'Augusto Severo International Airport' and is located just outside the city along the main highway. That is only about a 20 minutes drive to the centre of the city and the tourist areas along the coast. The airport takes its name from Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhao, an indigenous boy from the State of Rio Grande do Norte that was killed during an accident in France in 1902.
 The airport covers a total area of 11300 square meters and offers capacity to handle 1.2 million passengers per year. Therefore don’t get immediately overexcited about 'International’… It is not much larger than the average local European airport. Actually, the airport was created for military purposes to which facilities for civil aviation have been added. The overall structure is characterized by a streamlined curved architecture, about 100 meters wide and it has 3 floors. Behind the building there are 4 pedestrian bridges for embarking and disembarking. Once inside the building various facilities are available. Please refer to the page: facilities.
For additional information about the airport the following Internet pages are interesting:
Welcome page Airport Augusto Severo
General guide Airport Augusto Severo
New airport under construction
Natal expands rapidly! Both, the federal government that have chosen Natal as the sector for growth and the enormous interest from abroad will shortly lead to insufficient capacity of the current airport. Therefore Natal is feverishly working on a new modern international airport in São Gonçalo do Amarante. Actually, it is going to be the first commercial airport of South America. It is situated slightly northwest of Natal and only 45 minutes away from the centre of the city and the tourist areas along the coastline. This airport must be operational in 2010 with a capacity of handling 5 million passengers per year with an increase to 40 million! per year in 2020. Hence, nowadays there are lots of things happening in the region of Natal. |
