
Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (IATA: GIG, ICAO: SBGL), popularly known by its original name Galeão International Airport, is the main international airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The airport was originally named after the neighborhood of Galeão: Praia do Galeão (Galleon Beach) is located in front of the original passenger terminal (the present passenger terminal of the Brazilian Air Force). This beach is the location where the galleon Padre Eterno was built in 1663. On January 5, 1999 the name was changed adding a tribute to the Brazilian musician Antonio Carlos Jobim. Galeão Airport is explicitly mentioned in his composition Samba do Avião. Since March 30, 2026 the facility is jointly managed by the concessionary RioGaleão (formed by Infraero, Changi Airport Group, and Vinci) and the winner of the reconcession bidding process AENA. Some of its facilities are shared with the Galeão Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.

22.810°S, 43.251°O · 9 m s. n. m. (28 ft)
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Tower
Ground
Clearance delivery
ATIS (automatic information)
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Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.
On 10 May 1923, a School of Naval Aviation was established near Galeão beach on Governador Island. On 22 May 1941, with the creation of the Brazilian Air Force Ministry, the school became the Galeão Air Force Base; a terminal and hangars were built and the runway extended. Those buildings still exist and Galeão Air Force Base is still active. When Brazil declared war against the Axis on 22 August 1942, the aerodrome began to be used intensely by the Allies for military operations related to World War II. At the end of the war, Santos Dumont Airport was unable to handle the increased tonnage of aircraft flying on international routes and number of passengers. For this reason, international flights were gradually moved to the site of the Air Force Base. The services were however precarious and a decision was made to build a brand new passenger terminal, opposite to the Air Force Base, across the runway. On 1 February 1952, the new passenger terminal was opened and remained in use with enlargements until 1977. This terminal is used presently by passenger flights operated by the Brazilian Air Force. The cargo terminal is also located in the area and all-cargo aircraft usually park at its adjoining apron. The whole complex is now informally known as the "old Galeão". In the beginning of the 1970s, the airport was Brazil's major international and domestic air-hub. Between 1973 and 1987 the airport was managed by ARSA, until ARSA was incorporated by Infraero on 27 February 1987, an agency then recently created by the Brazilian government. Infraero was the administrator until 2013. As proof of the airport's prestige, the Concorde made its maiden scheduled flight with Air France on 21 January 1976, flying from Paris–Charles de Gaulle to Galeão via Dakar. Those twice-weekly flights were discontinued in 1982. Furthermore, the 007 – James Bond production Moonraker (1979) shows the Concorde touching down at Galeão. On 6 June 1967, in response to the growth of air traffic in Brazil, the Brazilian government initiated studies concerning the renovation of airport infrastructure in the country. As part of the conclusions of these studies, because of their location, strategic importance, and security issues, new passenger facilities would be constructed in the Galeão Air Force Base in Rio de Janeiro and the São Paulo Air Force Base in São Paulo. On 20 January 1977, when the airport was receiving most of Brazil's major international flights, this new terminal was opened and all scheduled passenger flights were transferred to the new building. This building is known today as Passenger Terminal 1. One of the features dating from this time is the sultry PA system announcements made by Iris Lettieri, which were featured on National Public Radio. In 1985, the airport lost the title of the country's major international airport to the newly-opened São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport. At that time, a new runway allowing intercontinental flights with no weight restrictions was opened in São Paulo and Brazilian and foreign airlines increasingly used São Paulo as a national and international hub. As a consequence, the number of transiting passengers dropped. Constant efforts were made by the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro to reverse the trend. As a result, after stagnating for years embittered by the loss of domestic flights to Santos Dumont Airport and international flights to São Paulo–Guarulhos Airport, Galeão has – since late 2004 – gradually recovered its importance in the national and international spheres with addition of flights and airlines. During 1991, Passenger Terminal 1 underwent its first major renovation in preparation for the United Nations Earth Summit held in 1992. Its annual capacity was increased to 7.5 million passengers a year. On 20 July 1999, Passenger Terminal 2 was opened.
Airlines using it as a main base (hub)
Other airlines with direct routes
Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).
Photo: Portal da Copa /Governo Federal Brasileiro / Daniel Ba… · CC BY 3.0 br · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG). Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/GIG
MLA
“Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/GIG. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/GIG.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/GIG (Accessed: 16 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_gig,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/GIG},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/GIG}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/GIG |title=Rio Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}