The IATA airport code of Viracopos is VCP and the specific city code of Campinas is CPQ. Sometimes both codes are used as one although there is a distinction between them in airline reservation systems: VCP, together with CGH (Congonhas) and GRU (Guarulhos), is part of the multiple airport system set around the city of São Paulo (code SAO). An airline that files services with the code VCP has flights displayed when passengers or travel agents request service from São Paulo, whereas flights filed with the code CPQ are displayed as service from Campinas, not São Paulo. A similar example is New York City (NYC), in which the airport codes LGA (LaGuardia Airport), JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport), and EWR (Newark Liberty International Airport) are used for the same city, although Newark is located in a different city and state. There are two versions of the origin of the name Viracopos, which means "turn (or overturn) glasses" in Portuguese and can be metaphorically understood as drinking a large amount of an alcoholic beverage at once. According to the first version, in the beginning of the 20th century, during an annual fair, there was a misunderstanding between the parish priest and the residents of the neighborhood. This resulted in excessive drinking and quarrels, in which the festival booths were torn down, or overturned, during the confusion. The name "Viracopos" was later used by the priest in sermons to refer to the event. Another version says that, on the site of the present airport, previously there had been a bar where herders had regularly met to exchange views and drink ("turn glasses"). So "Viracopos" was first the name of the district and later of the airport. The origin of the Viracopos Airport can be traced to a simple airfield near Campinas built during the 1932 Constitutionalist Revolution in São Paulo. In 1946, shortly after World War II, the first runway was paved. In the following years, the airport began to take shape, with the construction of the first hangar in 1948 and the terminal in 1950. During the 1950s, it started being used by cargo companies. In 1960, it was improved with a 3,240 m (10,630 ft) runway, long enough to accommodate the first generation of intercontinental jet planes such as the Boeing 707, de Havilland Comet, Vickers VC10, Convair 990, and Douglas DC-8, and the airport was officially inaugurated on 19 October 1960, same day where it also received its first international flight. Furthermore, Viracopos Airport served (and still serves) as an alternate airport for Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport and São Paulo airports particularly because it rarely closes due to bad weather conditions (an average of only 5 days per year). After 1960, Viracopos became the primary international airport for São Paulo, because the runway of São Paulo-Congonhas Airport was too short to accommodate intercontinental jet planes. In practice, however, the distance of nearly 100 km (62 mi) from Viracopos to São Paulo made it very inconvenient for passengers and airlines. As a result, direct international passenger service was limited, because most international passengers simply opted to fly instead to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport and then connect to Congonhas Airport, which is located very close to downtown. At that time, Viracopos even appeared on the Guinness Book of Records as the furthest airport from the city it allegedly served. The airport's title as the main international airport of São Paulo ended in 1985 with the opening of São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, and Viracopos entered into a decade of stagnation, with all international and most domestic flights transferred to Guarulhos and Congonhas.