Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed
Yeah, Congonhas is one of the few major airports in the world that covers a noticeably smaller area than LaGuardia, so I wouldn't be surprised if it is "busiest" in the world. LaGuardia is probably in the top 5 as well, if not second place.
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I was actually surprised by LaGuardia. It looks bigger on the GE than it actually is, maybe due so many runaways, something typical of US airports.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed
Is Santos Dumont smaller than Congonhas? Dumont seems about as small, if not smaller than Congonhas, but I know it doesn't get as many passengers.
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Yeah, it's half of the size: not even 1 km²: 833,703 m²; Congonhas is at 1,647,000 m² and much busier than Santos Dumont (22 mi vs 11 mi). And that will probably be SDU's peak as it's already cannibalizing Rio Galeão International (GIG) and they're trying to redirect flights there to keep it relevant. GIG massive, but idle and declining: only 7.9 million passengers in 2023.
Congonhas is more famous due that dive on the ocean of highrises, but Santos Dumont is actually more challenging. Runaway is way shorter and pilots must avoid Sugar Loaf when approaching or taking off.