Departure
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MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Pinto Martins International Airport (SBFZ) serves Fortaleza in Ceara, Brazil, a few kilometres south of the city centre, and is the principal gateway to Brazil's northeastern coast. It offers a single long instrument runway, full ATC and ATIS services, and a mix of international, domestic and cargo traffic that makes it a useful and interesting destination for simulator pilots flying South American routes.
Pinto Martins International Airport, named after the Ceara-born aviation pioneer Euclides Pinto Martins, is the international airport serving Fortaleza, Brazil. Operated today by Fraport Brasil, it handles a substantial mix of domestic, international and cargo flights and serves as a hub for LATAM Brasil, making it a busy and varied destination for a simulator pilot flying into northeastern Brazil.
The airport lies about 6 km south of downtown Fortaleza, on Brazil's northeastern Atlantic coast. It shares its origins with facilities once used jointly with Fortaleza Air Force Base, and general aviation, executive and air taxi operations continue to use the former passenger terminal on the airport's north side.
Pinto Martins has a single physical runway, 13/31, measuring 8,297 feet and surfaced in hard-standing (asphalt). Both thresholds are lit, and runway 13 is equipped with an ILS approach, giving pilots a usable instrument approach into the field regardless of the prevailing wind on the reciprocal heading.
Fortaleza Approach can be contacted on 133 MHz, with ATIS broadcasting on 127.7 MHz. Ground movements are handled on 121.95 MHz, and Fortaleza Tower operates on 129 MHz; an operations frequency is also available on 122.5 MHz. Runway 13 is served by an ILS approach.
The airport's origins lie in a runway built during the 1930s, and the site was used by the Ceara Flying School until 2000. During the Second World War it served as an important Allied base supporting South Atlantic operations. Originally known as Cocorote Airport, it was renamed on 13 May 1952 in honour of Euclides Pinto Martins, and a 1953 law formally preserved this name. A passenger terminal and apron were added in 1966, with the older terminal building later repurposed as a general aviation facility. The airport gained international status in 1997, and a new terminal opened in the southern part of the site in February 1998. Infraero operated the airport from January 1974 until the end of 2017, including a major investment programme ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Fortaleza was a host city. In March 2017 the concession was awarded to the Fraport AG-led consortium for a thirty-year term, with Fraport becoming sole administrator from January 2018. Terminal expansion works begun in 2018 were completed in April 2020.
Pinto Martins is now operated by Fraport Brasil and functions as a hub for LATAM Brasil, with scheduled services also flown by Azul, Gol, TAP Air Portugal, Air France and Iberia, alongside cargo operators. The airport can currently handle around four million passengers a year and has fourteen aircraft parking positions. General aviation, executive and air taxi traffic uses the former passenger terminal on the north side of the airfield, separate from the main commercial terminal to the south.