Yesterday, on Monday the 11th, the renovated Rivera International Airport ‘President General Oscar D. Gestido’ was officially inaugurated. This airport is unique in being the only one in Latin America, and one of the few in the world, to operate in a binational manner.
This will allow both Brazilian and Uruguayan airlines to carry out domestic flights simultaneously, representing an optimization of the use of infrastructure between this northern Uruguayan city and its Brazilian neighbor, Santana do Livramento, separated only by a street, giving a very particular dynamic to the region which averages 200,000 inhabitants.
After becoming part of Airports Uruguay (Corporación América Airports), Rivera Airport underwent a series of improvement and modernization works valued at USD 13 million. These included the expansion of the passenger terminal to 820 square meters, improvements to the control tower and communications systems, facilities for the National Air Police, a new fire station, repaving of the 1,380 x 45 meters runway, installation of LED airfield lighting, and LED lighting on the platform.
Rivera Airport was declared binational in August 2023 following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Uruguayan and Brazilian authorities.
This video gives us an overview of the Rivera airport facilities:
“There was listening, political decision, and trust in the committed word. A people is defined by the people who live in each place,” said Luis Lacalle Pou, President of Uruguay, during the inauguration ceremony. “There is a real physical integration that the limits of maps do not respect,” he added.
“This inauguration represents another step in our goal to develop a solid airport network for Uruguay that strengthens connectivity and becomes a driver of economic, tourist, and logistical development for our country,” said Diego Arrosa, CEO of Corporación América Airports in Uruguay.
Airports Uruguay also manages the airports of Montevideo/Carrasco, Punta del Este, Carmelo, Salto, Durazno, Melo, and Paysandú.
Flights to Rivera
The last time Rivera Airport had commercial passenger flights was in 2013, when BQB Airlines operated to Montevideo, Porto Alegre, and Florianópolis.
Now, having acquired binational status, Azul Linhas Aéreas announced that next year it will begin operating flights between Rivera and Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state.
Initially, there will be two weekly flights that are expected to be launched within the next 90 days, as detailed by the company in a statement. César Grandolfo, Institutional Relations Manager of Azul, said that “it is a symbolic moment for Azul to start operations at the third binational airport in the world, boosting tourism and local economic development.”
According to a report by the local media Zero Hora, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduarto Leite, announced that airlines operating in Rivera will be entitled to a reduction in ICMS (state tax) for the purchase of aviation fuel.
The expectation is that, once the Brazilian ANAC authorizes binational operations, the Rivera binational complex could be a new connection point to Buenos Aires or Montevideo.
