Salvador – Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport, formerly called Dois de Julho International Airport is the airport serving Salvador, Brazil. Since 16 June 1998 the airport is named after :pt:Luís Eduardo Magalhães|Luís Eduardo Maron Magalhães, an influential politician of the state of Bahia. It is operated byVinci SA. Some of its facilities are shared with the :pt:Base Aérea de Salvador|Salvador Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.
History
The airport, originally called Santo Amaro do Ipitanga Airport, was founded in 1925. In 1941 Panair do Brasil participating in the World War II efforts with the support of the American and Brazilian governments completely rebuilt the facility. On 20 December 1955, the airport had its name changed for the first time: it became known as Dois de Julho International Airport, celebrating Bahia Independence Day. This is still the name by which the population of Salvador da Bahia call the facility. On 16 June 1998 the airport name was again changed to its present form, honoring Luís Eduardo Maron Magalhães an influential politician of the state of Bahia. This second change remains however controversial and there have been attempts to revert it. The airport is located in an area of more than 6 millionsquare meters between sand dunes and native vegetation. The lush, bamboo-covered road to the airport has become one of the scenic attractions of Salvador da Bahia. A brand new passenger terminal was opened in 1998, replacing the original outdated terminal. This new terminal continued to be upgraded and was completed by the end of year 2000. The main terminal, which includes a shopping mall has 69,400 m², 11 jetways and a capacity to handle 6,000,000 passengers/year. Traffic has been growing at an average of 14% per year. Previously operated by Infraero, on 16 March 2017, the concession of the facility was won by Vinci SA, for which it paid R$ 2,35 billions. The concession is for a period of 30 years. The new concessionary plans to duplicate the passenger terminal.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Accidents and incidents
Accidents with fatalities
21 September 1944: a Panair do Brasil Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar registration PP-PBH crashed shortly after take-off from Salvador da Bahia. All 18 occupants died.
11 July 1952: a Brazilian Air ForceDouglas C-47A-35-DL registration FAB-2048 flying from Salvador da Bahia to Rio de Janeiro crashed following an engine fire. Thirteen of the 33 occupants died.
1 March 1959: a Brazilian Air Force Douglas C-47A-85-DL registration FAB-2060 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Salvador da Bahia crashed en route killing all 18 occupants.
17 November 1996: a Brazilian Air Force Embraer P-95 Bandeirante registration FAB-7102 flying from Salvador da Bahia to Natal Air Force Base had an accident in the vicinity of Caruaru. Four Brazilian Air Force Bandeirantes were flying on formation from Salvador da Bahia to Natal when the tail of FAB-7102 was struck by the propeller of another aircraft. Control of the aircraft was lost and it crashed. All 9 occupants died.
Access
The airport is located north from downtown Salvador da Bahia. A free shuttle bus runs every 10’ to the subway station.
