São Paulo Catarina Aeroporto Executivo, Brazil’s first greenfield business aviation airport, opened on December 16 after six years of moving mountains—both literally and figuratively—to create an 8,100-foot/2,470-m runway. That's long enough to allow nearly all business jet models to take off with a full load of fuel for intercontinental flights.
Converting 1,700 acres of tree farm to an airport with 232,500 sq ft/21,600 sq m of ramp space, capable of handling 200,000 operations per year, required moving more earth than the Itaipu Dam project to level hills and span the gaps between them, not to mention an investment of more than $147.7 million during a deep recession in Brazil.
The airport, boldly envisioned at the height of Brazil’s aviation boom and initially planned to be ready for the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament, required persistence and dedication by luxury real estate developer JHSF, which sold off other assets while moving forward with Catarina, slowing the pace of development but never stopping. Some features were axed from the project, such as an auxiliary runway that doubled as a taxiway. JHSF’s participation at LABACE over the past decade varied from the ostentatious to the modest as the recession battered the company. However, the length of the main runway was maintained and the project was completed.
A who’s who of Brazilian business aviation, in a concentration usually seen only at LABACE, filled the 65,000-sq-ft/6,039-sq-m hangar on Monday for the grand opening celebration. An orchestra played the National Anthem at the start of the ceremony and the last movement of Dvorak’s “From the New World” as the hangar doors rolled open at the ribbon-cutting. They later swung into lighter tunes such as Tom Jobin’s “Samba do Avião” (“Airplane Samba”) after the Gulfstream IV making the first flight into the airport received a water-cannon salute by Catarina’s firetrucks.
The crowd was much the same as that attending the opening of the GATGRU business aviation terminal at Guarulhos Airport at the start of 2019. Last January, new state and federal administrations were elected, but had not yet begun to work.
While the mood in January 2019 was cautious hope, December’s was ebullience, reflecting the recovery of the economy and, especially, the resurgence of business aviation in Brazil. Catarina Airport seemed excessively daring at its start and increasingly foolhardy as the recession deepened and the drop in air travel put off the specter of airport saturation. The project’s conclusion was an affirmation of optimism.
Support from Government
With business-friendly governments now in place at both federal and state levels, top dignitaries were present at the opening ceremony. Civil Aviation Secretary Ronei Glanzman praised JHSF chairman José Auriemo Neto by his nickname, saying “Zé made this project start,” and added, “The principal role of the Republic is to not get in the way.”
ANAC director Ricardo Bezerra recalled aviation pioneers Santos Dumont and Air Force General Eduardo Gomes, who believed in the ITA project that eventually gave birth to Embraer, adding that the Catarina Airport “makes one proud to be Brazilian.” When a decree made private airports possible, and Neto came with a project, Bezerra said he told his team, “Give him what he needs.”
Two months ago, when the final remaining approval was for airport signage, he told JHSF, “Don't worry.” Bezerra also praised the airport’s security preparation: “It has everything needed for safety. I’ve seen nothing like it, not even overseas.”
Governor João Doria—who, as a businessman, purchased an Embraer Legacy 650—noted the business airport’s importance, as 382 of the Fortune 500 companies operate in São Paulo. He praised the airport as “collective work with the leadership of Auriemo and the people of JHSF.”
He then moved to aviation in general, saying that his administration’s reduction of state fuel excise taxes from 25 percent to 12 percent has led to an increase of 706 weekly airline flights serving the state. Doria also boasted of getting good people for his administration, with former minister of tourism Vinicius Lummertz now filling the same role at the state and former head of national airport authority Infraero Antônio Claret de Oliveira inducted as superintendent of DAESP, which administers—and plans to finish privatizing—the state’s airports. Making São Paulo Congonhas Airport an international facility is also on his agenda.
Location, Location, Location
The internationalization of both Catarina and nearby Sorocaba Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airports is also on the agenda for national civil aviation council CONAIR, according to Glanzman. “Catarina will be business aviation and Sorocaba will be maintenance,” the governor said.
Sorocaba includes MRO facilities for Dassault, Embraer, and Pratt & Whitney, among others, and it is also home to World Way Aviation's FBO. Catarina’s plans have always included space for FBO facilities. The airports are only 21 miles apart by air and nearly-direct highways make the ground distance only 24 miles to the city.
Catarina is part of a larger JHSF development, spanning the Castelo Branco highway and the Catarina shopping mall across the road, with the initial project calling for office towers, hotels, and a residential condominium. The airport is advertised as “35 minutes from São Paulo’s principal business district” by auto and 14 minutes by helicopter.
A direct exit from the highway and the large parking lot easily accommodated the cars of visitors for the inauguration, though plans indicate that the runway-level parking area will eventually become home to Buildings 05 through 08. The project provides for an eventual 540,000 sq ft/50,168 sq m of hangar space.
The inaugural hangar, painted “01,” is joined to a completed FBO, including not only lounges, meeting rooms, and crew accommodations, but also a gym, cinema, and an area set aside for eventual customs and immigration processing. The architect, Sid Bergamin, who is responsible for many of JHSF’s luxury projects, created a soaring atrium crossed by suspended walkways reached by an openwork staircase, along with glass walls and roof, terrazzo floors, and ample tropical greenery.
Vision Fulfilled, Visions Ahead
Catarina Airport is a product of the vision of Francisco Lyra, whose CFly is a partner in GATGRU and is credited as an operational partner in Catarina. The idea of a totally new airport dedicated to business aviation was considered a pipe dream when he first broached it nearly a decade ago, as economic and political instability, along with high interest rates, make any long-term projected difficult in Brazil.
Before the start of the recession, several São Paulo-area business aviation airports and one new commercial airport were announced and eventually abandoned or stalled. Lyra credited JHSF chairman José Auriemo Neto for having embraced the project and stood by it through the recession.
The need for a dedicated airport became clear to him, Lyra said, when he was chairman of the business aviation association ABAG. An ANAC commissioner told him that she would always have to give an aircraft with 180 passengers priority over one with two passengers. He then realized that as the country’s commercial aviation expanded, business aviation needed a place of its own.
At the airport opening, Lyra spoke as president of the Brazilian Aviation Institute (IBA) and announced his next projects are preserving the “Asas de um Sonho” aviation museum and creating the “university of the air” to train the estimated 600,000 new workers Brazilian aviation will need in the coming years.
The airport was designed based on traffic and revenue projections, and the party was all that an experienced luxury developer and the best caterers could provide. But the party, dignitaries, crowd, speeches, and music were superfluous to the true meaning of the event.
After the ceremony, Lyra told AIN that the real first flight had taken place several days before. He had been at the controls and JHSF president Thiago Alonso Oliveira was a passenger. The job had been accomplished, and the official opening ceremony was just the aftermath.
São Paulo Catarina Aeroporto Executivo, Brazil’s first greenfield business aviation airport, opened on December 16 after six years of moving mountains—both literally and figuratively—to create an 8,100-foot/2,470-m runway. That's long enough to allow nearly all business jet models to take off with a full load of fuel for intercontinental flights.
Converting 1,700 acres of tree farm to an airport with 232,500 sq ft/21,600 sq m of ramp space, capable of handling 200,000 operations per year, required moving more earth than the Itaipu Dam project to level hills and span the gaps between them, not to mention an investment of more than $147.7 million during a deep recession in Brazil.
The airport, boldly envisioned at the height of Brazil’s aviation boom and initially planned to be ready for the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament, required persistence and dedication by luxury real estate developer JHSF, which sold off other assets while moving forward with Catarina, slowing the pace of development but never stopping. Some features were axed from the project, such as an auxiliary runway that doubled as a taxiway. JHSF’s participation at LABACE over the past decade varied from the ostentatious to the modest as the recession battered the company. However, the length of the main runway was maintained and the project was completed.
While the mood in January 2019 was cautious hope, at December’s opening ceremony, ebullience reigned, reflecting the recovery of the economy and, especially, the resurgence of business aviation in Brazil. Catarina Airport seemed excessively daring at its start and increasingly foolhardy as the recession deepened and the drop in air travel put off the specter of airport saturation. The project’s conclusion was an affirmation of optimism.
Location, Location, Location
The internationalization of both Catarina and nearby Sorocaba Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airports is also on the agenda for national civil aviation council CONAIR, according to Civil Aviation Secretary Ronei Glanzman. “Catarina will be business aviation and Sorocaba will be maintenance,” said Governor João Doria—who, as a businessman, has purchased an Embraer Legacy 650.
Sorocaba includes MRO facilities for Dassault, Embraer, and Pratt & Whitney, among others, and it is also home to World Way Aviation's FBO. Catarina’s plans have always included space for FBO facilities. The airports are only 21 miles apart by air and nearly-direct highways make the ground distance only 24 miles to the city.
Catarina is part of a larger JHSF development, spanning the Castelo Branco highway and the Catarina shopping mall across the road, with the initial project calling for office towers, hotels, and a residential condominium. The airport is advertised as “35 minutes from São Paulo’s principal business district” by auto and 14 minutes by helicopter.
The inaugural hangar, painted “01,” is joined to a completed FBO, including not only lounges, meeting rooms, and crew accommodations, but also a gym, cinema, and an area set aside for eventual customs and immigration processing. The architect, Sid Bergamin, who is responsible for many of JHSF’s luxury projects, created a soaring atrium crossed by suspended walkways reached by an openwork staircase, along with glass walls and roof, terrazzo floors, and ample tropical greenery. Plans indicate that the runway-level parking area will eventually become home to Buildings 05 through 08. The project provides for an eventual 540,000 sq ft/50,168 sq m of hangar space.
Vision Fulfilled, Visions Ahead
Catarina Airport is a product of the vision of Francisco Lyra, whose CFly is a partner in GATGRU and is credited as an operational partner in Catarina. The idea of a totally new airport dedicated to business aviation was considered a pipe dream when he first broached it nearly a decade ago, as economic and political instability, along with high interest rates, make any long-term projected difficult in Brazil.
Before the start of the recession, several São Paulo-area business aviation airports and one new commercial airport were announced and eventually abandoned or stalled. Lyra credited JHSF chairman José Auriemo Neto for having embraced the project and stood by it through the recession.
The need for a dedicated airport became clear to him, Lyra said, when he was chairman of the business aviation association ABAG. An ANAC commissioner told him that she would always have to give an aircraft with 180 passengers priority over one with two passengers. He then realized that as the country’s commercial aviation expanded, business aviation needed a place of its own.
At the airport opening, Lyra spoke as president of the Brazilian Aviation Institute (IBA) and announced his next projects are preserving the “Asas de um Sonho” aviation museum and creating the “university of the air” to train the estimated 600,000 new workers Brazilian aviation will need in the coming years.