December 6th, 2016. This is the official date of Terminal 2 inauguration of the Belo Horizonte International Airport (Confins), which will increase the operating capacity to 22 million passengers per year. The total area will be increased by 60% and 17 new boarding bridges will be added. With the operation of new facilities, the Airport will be able to meet passenger demand for next ten years.
“The entry into operation of the new Terminal marks a new phase of BH International Airport, which now offers the most modern airport services, providing an infrastructure capable of receiving new flights and airlines, increasingly integrating the Minas Gerais State, to Brazil and to the world. At this moment there is also a new level of service to passengers and users, “said Paulo Rangel, BH Airport CEO.
The new terminal is the main short-term work of the concessionaire and is provided in the concession agreement. The concessionaire BH Airport invested U$ 300 million in the works complex, which includes the implementation of the new Passenger Terminal, the reconfiguration of access road system to the airport, expansion of the airfield area and new parking spaces for vehicles, besides the revitalization of the existing Terminal. The new passenger facilities were built in 14 months – a deadline considered short for the venture size – and even employed around 1,500 employees during the construction. The entry into operation of the new Terminal should generate more than 300 jobs, directly and indirectly.
The start-up of the new Terminal also marks the closure of Phase 1-B of the concession contract, fully complied by the concessionaire, in which investments were made to adapt the infrastructure offered to passengers. From now on, the concession enters Phase 2, which runs until the end of the contract in 2043. Since August 2014, the concessionaire assumed responsibility for expansion, maintenance and operation of the Airport.
OPERATION AND SERVICES
The new passenger terminal is fully integrated with the existing boarding and disembarking lounges at the airport. The new structure is a continuity of the existing Terminal. With the expansion – at around 52 thousand square meters, the total area of the Airport passes to 132 thousand square meters and the two terminals are completely integrated. The new terminal area will focus on international operations currently being done by Terminal 3. Domestic check-in will continue to be done at existing facilities (Check-in 1 and 2), but passengers will be able to use the new area boarding bridges using the departure lounge.
Access and movement of passengers in the new airport area will be distributed on two levels. Shipments for international flights will be made by the upper level of the new Terminal area, accessed through a viaduct built by BH Airport. The landings will be by ground floor, common in the main airports of the world. Passenger-restricted areas, both domestic and international, with access after baggage inspection (X-ray) procedures, both for boarding and disembarking, are fully integrated through a large continuous area. These areas are air-conditioned, as is currently the case in the boarding and disembarkation rooms of the existing Terminal.
Among the technological innovations, in the expansion of the Airport is provided the bagdrop, a service that allows the passenger himself to label and dispatch his luggage; As well as electronic control equipment for access to departure lounge with reading boarding passes through e-gates.
The Airport in numbers:
With the new Terminal, BH International Airport will have:
– Capacity for 22 million passengers / year
– 132 thousand m² of area, of which 52 thousand m² in the new area
– 26 boarding bridges, three of which are exclusive to international operations
– 17 channels of inspection for passengers (X-ray)
– 9 luggage return mats
– 3 sets of conveyor belts
– 27 lifts and 14 escalators
– 625 parking spaces
– 44 aircraft positions
– New area for international loading and unloading
– New food options, shops and services