Parauapebas - Carajás Airport
Carajás Airport – Parauapebas (CKS)
Just over 700 kilometers from Belém, capital of Pará, Parauapebas is home to the largest iron deposit in the world, discovered in the 1960s, in Serra dos Carajás. The installation of the Carajás Iron Project began in the 1970s and, in the following decade, in 1980, the company Vale do Rio Doce, now Vale, obtained the right to exclusive exploration of iron ore, gold and manganese in the area, driving an economy which led to the founding of new villages and attracted people from all over Brazil to the southwest of Pará.
In this scenario, with the aim of meeting the demand from the activities of the largest iron deposit in the world, the mining company Vale built Carajás Airport in 1981, which currently receives around 140 thousand passengers per year. As of November 24, 2023, Carajás – Parauapebas Airport (SBCJ) began to be managed by Aena Brasil, after the concessionaire purchased a block of 11 Brazilian airport terminals in an auction by the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) held in 2022.
As it already manages, since 2020, six units in the Northeast, Aena Brasil runs, in total, 17 airports in the country. The company is part of the Spanish group Aena, considered the largest airport operator in the world in terms of number of passengers.
The main gateway for investors from the global financial market when visiting the Carajás Iron Mine Complex, Carajás Airport in Parauapebas/PA receives an increasing number of passengers, the vast majority due to mineral exploration in the region. In 1985, the air terminal was transferred to the administration of Infraero, which, in 2020, promoted the expansion of the departure and arrival halls, allowing an increase in operational capacity from 100 passengers to 150 per peak hour.
Previously, in 2012, another important renovation and expansion was carried out in the Fire Protection Section (SCI). In its history, the airport keeps a record of the day it received the British royal couple, Charles and Diana, whose flight landed at Pará airport for a visit to the Carajás complex.
During the next 30 years, the concession period, Aena Brasil will modernize Carajás Airport, preparing the unit for the demands of the present and future, guaranteeing its users increasingly comfort and safety.