Guararapes International Airport

Guararapes International Airport (IATA code: REC, ICAO code: SBRF) is the airport serving Recife, Brazil. Located south of Recife, 14 kilometers (9 miles) from downtown, the airport operates domestic and international flights 24 hours a day and plays an important role for the city and the entire Northeast region of Brazil, favoring economic relations, promoting the exchange of people and the transport of goods throughout the country and abroad.

The facility in this airport originated at the time of World War II, when a new airport was built to replace the earlier airfield, Parque do Encanta Moça. With the end of the War, the facility became strategically important as a technical and refueling stop on the route from South America to Europe. The architecture of its passenger terminal offers a free space without any support pillars or obstacles, facilitating the flow of passengers and luggage.

In 2004 a brand-new passenger terminal was built in this airport, including a new shopping mall, thus generating more traffic and revenue. Furthermore, a new concourse was opened in 2004 and the airport's capacity increased from 1.5 to 9 million passengers/year. On 31 August 2009 Infraero unveiled a BRL 8.75 million (US$4.6 million; EUR 3.2 million) investment plan to upgrade Guararapes International Airport, focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Recife being one of the venue cities. The investment was spent in finishing the passenger terminal renovation, installing 8 more jetways. In 2019, the airport received 8,531,312 passengers.