Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport, generally known simply as Guarulhos or GRU, is the principal gateway to São Paulo and the busiest airport in Brazil and Latin America. Located in the municipality of Guarulhos, it operates as a major hub for Gol and LATAM Brasil and a focus city for Azul, with two long, ILS-equipped runways and shared facilities with the São Paulo Air Force Base. For a simulator pilot it offers a demanding, high-traffic international environment with full instrument approach infrastructure on both runways.
Guarulhos International Airport, officially named after former São Paulo state governor André Franco Montoro, is the primary international airport serving the city of São Paulo. It lies in the municipality of Guarulhos and is operated commercially as GRU Airport, a role it has held since 2012 following decades under the state operator Infraero. The field is the largest airport in Brazil and Latin America and ranks among the world's fifty busiest by passenger traffic, making it a natural focus for any simulator pilot flying long-haul or domestic routes into South America. It shares part of its infrastructure with the São Paulo Air Force Base, giving the airport a dual civil-military character.
The airport sits in the municipality of Guarulhos, in São Paulo state, adjacent to the metropolitan area of São Paulo itself. As Brazil's busiest airport it is subject to slot restrictions, with a maximum of 45 operations per hour, one of only a handful of Brazilian airports so restricted alongside São Paulo-Congonhas, Brasília, Belo Horizonte-Pampulha and Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont. Approach control is provided as São Paulo Approach.
Guarulhos has two parallel east-west runway pairs. The northern pair, 10L/28R, is the longer of the two: runway 28R measures 11,930 feet and runway 10L measures 11,829 feet, both hard-surfaced, lit, and equipped with ILS. The southern pair, 10R/28L, measures 9,829 feet in each direction, also hard-surfaced, lit, and ILS-equipped. Field elevation is 2,444 feet.
São Paulo Approach operates on 119.8 MHz, with ATIS broadcast on 127.75 MHz. Ground movement is handled on 121.7 MHz as Guarulhos Ground, clearance delivery on 121 MHz, and Guarulhos Tower on 132.75 MHz. São Paulo Operations can be reached on 122.5 MHz. Each runway end has its own ILS: 110.7 MHz (IUC) for runway 10L, 111.1 MHz (IBC) for runway 28L, 111.7 MHz (IGH) for runway 10R, and 111.9 MHz (IGS) for runway 28R.
Guarulhos Airport opened on 20 January 1985 and has since grown into Brazil's largest and busiest airport. It is popularly known locally as Cumbica, a name drawn from the district in which it stands and from the Brazilian Air Force base that shares the site. On 28 November 2001 the airport was formally renamed in honour of André Franco Montoro (1916-1999), a former governor of São Paulo state. The airport was administered by the state operator Infraero from its opening until 2012, when a twenty-year concession was granted to a consortium of the Brazilian investment group Invepar and the South African Airports Company (ACSA), trading as GRU Airport; Infraero retained a 49 percent stake in the new operating company. Rapid growth through the 2000s left the airport heavily over capacity, prompting the conversion of former VASP and Transbrasil cargo terminals into passenger facilities from 2012, and a full terminal renumbering in December 2015 to simplify the arrival sequence for passengers.
Guarulhos remains the busiest airport in Brazil in terms of passengers, aircraft movements and cargo, and operates under a slot restriction of 45 movements per hour. It serves as a hub for Gol Linhas Aéreas and LATAM Brasil and as a focus city for Azul Brazilian Airlines, reflecting its role as the country's principal long-haul and domestic connecting point. The field continues to share infrastructure with the co-located São Paulo Air Force Base.
