The movement of aircraft at the International Airport of Brasilia decreased by more than 90%, due to restrictions on locomotion and travel due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19). According to Inframerica, the airport operator, the average movement, from 380 daily flights, has dropped to 21 now in early April.
The third-largest airport in the country in terms of passenger movement, the terminal has an operational capacity of one flight every 56 seconds. According to the company, the remaining flights involve only domestic segments.
“Since March 25, scheduled international flights at the Brasilia terminal have been completely suspended. There is no forecast for the resumption of other flights ”, informed Inframerica.
Normally, flights leave from Brasilia Airport to 43 domestic destinations and nine international ones. It now operates only for 16 destinations in the Southeast, Northeast and North regions.
With the drop in demand, one of the boarding rooms, where 14 gates were located, was closed. In the note sent to Agência Brasil, the company informs that it is studying the closing of other gates and the suspension of
operations of one of the runways, to optimize the use of infrastructure during the pandemic period, as well as to mitigate the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19.
“As a result, many stores in the Brasilia terminal are temporarily closed, but it is still possible to find essential services such as a pharmacy and snack bars, especially in the departure lounges,” said the company.
According to Inframerica, some precautions have been taken to avoid contamination by the virus. Among them the use of masks and gloves by service employees, and the adoption of the home office regime for part of the employees. Besides, alcohol gel was made available in the circulation areas of workers, and the cleaning of check-in counters, handrails, escalators and moving walkways and self-service totems was intensified.
