The international Airport of Rio de Janeiro carries different names: Antônio Carlos Jobim, Tom Jobim and Galeão; the shortcode GIG isn’t self-explaining, too. It is located in Zona Norte on an island (Ilha da Governador), 17 km away from the city center.
Continue reading “Rio de Janeiro International Airport / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Galeão (GIG)”Aeroporto Internacional de Foz do Iguaçu/Cataratas (IGU)
Maybe the smallest airport I’ve ever landed on. They airport is 17 km away from the city center and also called “Cataratas”, because it is the main entry point to las Cataratas do Iguaçu – the fantastic waterfalls of Iguaçu in Brazil and Argentina. It is tiny, has only one security control point and you can arrive pretty late. And eat some last Pão de Queijo (cheese balls) before entering the plane.
Continue reading “Aeroporto Internacional de Foz do Iguaçu/Cataratas (IGU)”Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo (GRU)
The airport of São Paulo (called Guarulhos) is located 26 km afar from the city center. It is a big airport with long distances to walk and nice restaurants. The airport is connected to the city by busses running from the lower level of the airport. Like on any airport in South America you’ll have to wait some time for immigration control.
Continue reading “Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo (GRU)”Frankfurt International Airport (FRA)
The Frankfurt International Airport can be found 12 km south-west of Frankfurt am Main. It is the biggest hub in Germany and I consider it my airbase. From no place in Germany you can reach so many destinations and nowhere you will find such a high density of flights. The airport is easily reachable by regional and long-distance trains which run from two different railway stations.
Continue reading “Frankfurt International Airport (FRA)”John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
The John F. Kennedy International Airport is the most important airport of New York City, United States. It is located in the southeast of New York, 24 km away from Manhattan in a quarter called Jamaica, a part of Queens. The airport has been built in 1942 and handles 53 million passengers a year.
Continue reading “John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)”El Tepual International Airport (PMC)
If you divide the long stretched country of Chile into three sections (Atacama desert, center, natural preserves) then the El Tepual International Airport in Puerto Montt is ideally located between the central area where most Chileans live and the natural parks – like the beautiful Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.
Aeropuerto Internacional Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez (SCL)
The international airport of Santiago de Chile is the most important airport of Chile. Is named after Arturo Merino Benítez, the first commander of the Chilean air force and the founder of the civil LAN airline. It was opened in 1967 and is an important hub in South America.
Continue reading “Aeropuerto Internacional Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez (SCL)”
Aeropuerto Madrid-Barajas (MAD)
I first experienced the airport of Madrid-Barajas “Adolfo Suárez” only as a transit passenger, but this several times. It is the largest airport in Spain, the most important hub of the country and vast in space. You can roam this very modern place for hours, switch via terminals by subway train – but I never found it to be a very welcoming place.
Continue reading “Aeropuerto Madrid-Barajas (MAD)”Atatürk International Airport (IST)
I visited the Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey several times – mostly to catch a connecting flight. It isn’t a pretty airport, but an important hub and the biggest airport in Turkey. It is the home base of one of my favorite airlines – Turkish – and moves 20 million passengers a year. But in fact its days are already counted: a new airport is being build right now and will be opened in 2017.
Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ)
Some airports in Germany have not been built because many people want to fly from these places, but mostly because of political reasons – every region wants to have a terminal. This airport was built in 1927 for another reason: air cargo. Located near the cities Halle (Saale) and Leipzig on the ground of the small town Schkeuditz it is the #2 air cargo hub of Germany.