Santos Dumont Airport, in Rio de Janeiro, was closed after a small aircraft left the runway during operations. The incident left no injuries, but caused a complete interruption of operations at the Rio airport.
The shutdown generated chain effects on the air bridge between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Congonhas Airport, in São Paulo's South Zone, was directly affected. According to Aena, the operator responsible for Congonhas, 18 departures and 19 arrivals with origin or destination at Santos Dumont were canceled.
Some flights are being redirected to Galeão Airport, in Rio, but the redirection process is taking time. The impacted flights include operations scheduled until 11 PM this Thursday.
Congonhas' lobby presents intense activity, with lines of passengers seeking information about their flights. Among those affected is bank clerk Vinícius de Sousa, 41 years old, who arrived at the airport Thursday afternoon and had his flight canceled. The airline offered transportation options to passengers affected by the cancellations.
