On the morning of May 24, the Prof. Urbano Stumpf airport in São José dos Campos, in the Vale do Paraíba Paulista, welcomed its first regular cargo flight. This milestone inaugurated the route between Miami and the city in the state of São Paulo.
The route will operate two weekly flights, on Tuesdays and Fridays, carried out by LATAM Cargo’s Boeing 767-300F cargo planes. Each aircraft has a capacity to transport up to 55 tons of cargo. The next flight is scheduled for Friday (26), at 16:40.
After stopping in Recife, Pernambuco, the aircraft, registered under PR-ABD, landed on its inaugural flight at 9:30 am and was greeted with the traditional «baptism» with water jets. Employees, SJK Airport concessionaire directors, LATAM representatives, and company representatives who will import and export products from São José dos Campos attended the operation.
As reported by our media partner Aeroin, electronic equipment and inputs for São José’s aerospace chain and region are among the goods to be transported. The aircraft will also make stops in South American countries, such as Chile, Colombia, and Argentina, whenever there is cargo demand.
LATAM Cargo’s Operations Director, Eduardo Andres Pizarro, who monitored the operation, said that the company might allocate new aircraft and increase the frequency of flights on the same route, based on demand evaluation in the upcoming months.
SJK Airport’s administrative board president, Eduardo Valle, assesses that the start of cargo operations at the terminal could inaugurate a new logistical hub in São José and the region, boosting the economy and creating jobs.
«Local industries will become more competitive, leveraging the regional economy and attracting new business,» Valle stated. «This is not merely cargo movement. Today, we are inaugurating a hub that will boost the regional economy, create a more efficient and agile access point for exporting and importing products, and facilitate the production of industries throughout the region,» he concluded.
Concession São José dos Campos airport has been under the concession of SJK Airport since November of the previous year for a period of 30 years. Up to R$ 130 million are expected to be invested in the terminal.
The airport’s concession is part of the 2021/24 Management Plan and integrates the PPI (Program of Partnerships for Investments). The goal is to optimize the terminal’s usage by resuming and expanding regular cargo and passenger flights.
