Rio de Janeiro’s Secretary of Tourism, Sávio Neves, announced that the State is preparing a water transport link between Galeão and Santos Dumont.
The announcement was made during the «Tourism and Entertainment» seminar, held by the Youth and Tourism Business Councils of the ACRJ (Rio de Janeiro Business Association) on May 5, as reported by our partner media in Brazil, Aeroin.net.
«The river connection, which already exists, even with docks, will be made between the two airports. The proposal is that Cocotá, the ferry station at Ilha do Governador, will become Galeão and that Praça XV will become Santos Dumont. We are in the preliminary study to then transform it into a project, see the legal part and then the concession of this line. I believe that by the end of the year we will have this cycle concluded», said the secretary, pointing out that this initiative will give more comfort to passengers, in the 20-minute commute between the two destinations.
Río de Janeiro: Santos Dumont Airport is Half Way to Total Recovery
The objective is to ensure that Galeão’s Tom Jobim airport remains viable for companies operating international flights, as the prospect is that the concession of Santos Dumont will result in a greater transfer of flights to the central terminal of the carioca capital.
With the reduction of flights at Galeão, its connectivity will be impaired, making unviable many international operations that depend on a good domestic air network to capture and distribute passengers.
The water connection would serve to reduce passenger travel time between downtown Rio de Janeiro and Galeão, which would solve the problem of long ground transportation time between the same points.
«The two airports are on the edge of Guanabara Bay. Passengers will take the boat and communicate where they will be staying to receive their luggage directly at the hotel,» commented Neves in an interview after the announcement at the event.
