João Correa da Rocha Airport Aeroporto João Correa da Rocha | |||||||||||
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
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| Serves | Marabá | ||||||||||
| Opened | 17 November 1935 | ||||||||||
| Time zone | BRT (UTC−03:00) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 109 m / 358 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 05°22′05″S 049°08′17″W / 5.36806°S 49.13806°W | ||||||||||
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  MAB Location in Brazil  MAB MAB (Brazil) | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
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The João Corrêa da Rocha Airport (IATA: MAB, ICAO: SBMA) is an airport serving the city of Marabá in Brazil. Although it only operates domestic flights, it is one of the busiest airports in the North region of Brazil, and also one of the fastest growing in passenger numbers.
It is located on the margins of the Trans-Amazonian Highway at 3.5 km — from the bridge over the Itacaiúnas River to the city of Itupiranga — in the Quindangues neighbourhood, in the urban centre of Cidade Nova [pt].[3]
In 2010, in an homenage to the journalist João Corrêa da Rocha, founder of the newspaper Notícias de Marabá (News of Marabá), the Marabá airport was named after him.[4]
History
editThe history of the airport in Marabá dates back to the 1930s, when Brigadier Lysias Augusto Rodrigues [pt] and engineer Américo Barbosa de Oliveira captained the opening and construction of a runway in the future area of Nova Marabá [pt].[5] The inauguration was marked by the arrival of the first plane, a single-engine Waco CSO C-27, from the Correio Aéreo Nacional [pt], piloted by Brigadier Rodrigues, on 17 November 1935.
In 1940 and 1946, the runway is extended and comes under the management of the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB), serving as an auxiliary air base during World War ll. It wasn't until 1966/1967 that the runway was pavemented.[4]
With the imminent usage of the area of Nova Marabá for the construction of the future city of Marabá, the landing strip was transferred in 1973 by the FAB and the Superintendência do Desenvolvimento da Amazônia (SUDAM) to Cidade Nova, deep into the traditional Amapá neighbourhood.[4]
Until 1978, the João Correa da Rocha Airport had a precarious runway, and its traffic was handled by Douglas DC-3 aircraft and air taxis.[6]
The connection with the city centre was poor due to its location beyond the Itacaiúnas River, which separates the airport from the historic city centre. At the time, there was no bridge over the river and people and vehicles travelled by boat and ferry, which made its usage and development very difficult.[6]
The donation contract from the Marabá Prefecture to the Federal government of Brazil was signed on 14 September 1977 (Process filed with the Ministério da Fazenda under No. MF 0768-81.479/69)[6]. The new airport structure was built by the Ministério da Aeronáutica [pt], through the Comissão de Aeroportos da Amazônia (COMARA). It was inaugurated on 20 May 1978[6].
On 3 November 1980, the Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (Infraero) took over the airport, setting up one of the most valuable airbridges in Brazil at the time, linking Marabá to the Serra Pelada gold mining area with regular flights.
Accidents
editThe Varig Flight 254 incident on 3 September 1989, that went from Marabá to Belém, was the most tragic air accident to ever occur on a plane taking off from the João Correa da Rocha airport. A Boeing 737-200 prefix PP-VMK of the Brazilian airline Varig — flight Varig RG — after making a navigation error when taking off from Marabá, flew for more than three hours without knowing where it was[7]. After he ran out of fuel, the pilot had to make a forced landing in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, near São José do Xingu, in Mato Grosso. On the landing, the impact of the plane against the trees caused the death of 12 passengers and the injury of 42 others[8].
Airport complex
editAirport site
- Area: 3,350,767.05 m²
Aircraft yard
- Area: 19,217 m²
Runway
- Dimensions(m): 2000 x 45
- Floor: A
- Signalling: S
Passenger terminal
- Area: 603 m²
Car park
- Capacity: 60 spaces
Aircraft car park
- Number of positions: 15[9]
Destinations
editFlights from Marabá
Municipality Airport IATA code Region Flight route Company (name)
Belém (Pará) Belém International Airport BEL North Direct Azul Linhas Aéreas
Brasília Brasília International Airport BSB Centre-West Direct LATAM Brasil and Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes
Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte-Confins International Airport CNF Southeast Direct Azul Linhas Aéreas
From Corrêa da Rocha there are also irregular flights to the regional airports of Conceição do Araguaia, Ourilândia do Norte, Redenção, Santana do Araguaia, São Félix do Xingu and Tucuruí.
Given the extreme distances from the municipality of Marabá, there are two other municipal aerodromes, Aeródromo das Pedras, 135 km from the centre of Marabá, which serves the extreme southwest of the municipality (Garimpo das Pedras village), and; Aeródromo da Serra da Buritirama, around 120 km from the centre of Marabá, serving the northwest of the municipality (Rio Preto region and União village). Both have Correa da Rocha airport as their main destinations.
See also
editExternal links
editAirport flight timetable-Gol, Sete, Tam
SETE flight timetable
- ^ "Estatísticas". AENA Brasil (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "Aeródromos". ANAC (in Portuguese). 29 June 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "JOÃO CORREA DA ROCHA (SBMA)". DECEA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 9 April 2024.