Major Airports in Brazil

Brazil is South America’s largest country and its biggest aviation market, and for almost every visitor the trip begins at one of its airports. The network mirrors the country’s vast geography: a cluster of huge hubs around Brazil’s southeastern megacities funnels long-haul and domestic traffic, while a chain of coastal gateways serves the northeast’s beaches and a handful of Amazonian airports connect cities separated by hundreds of kilometres of rainforest.

✈️ See also: Most Active Airlines in Brazil — which carriers fly the most routes from Brazil, mapped.

Below we map and rank Brazil’s major airports by the number of nonstop destinations each one serves, drawn from live route data on AirportRoutes. Because the figures come from observed flight data — a large sample rather than a complete published timetable — we treat them as a strong guide to relative connectivity rather than exact, official totals.

Which Brazilian airports have direct flights to the US?

Nonstop flying between Brazil and the United States is heavily concentrated in São Paulo. Guarulhos (GRU) is the country’s intercontinental powerhouse, with around 37 intercontinental destinations and nonstop links to roughly nine US cities — including New York, Newark, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Washington, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago — flown by American, Delta, United, LATAM, GOL and Azul.

Rio de Janeiro (GIG) is the second US gateway, with nonstops to Atlanta, Houston and New York. Beyond those two, Azul runs leisure routes from Campinas/Viracopos (VCP) to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, and there are seasonal links from Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza. Some of the routes the data shows from the Amazon — Manaus and Belém to Miami and Fort Lauderdale — are largely cargo rather than scheduled passenger service.

In short: if you’re flying nonstop between Brazil and the United States, you’re almost certainly using São Paulo, with Rio de Janeiro as the main alternative.

A closer look at Brazil’s biggest airports

🛫 São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU)

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Opened in 1985 and named after a former state governor, Guarulhos sits about 25 km northeast of central São Paulo and is by far Brazil’s busiest airport. It is the main hub of LATAM Brasil and the country’s principal long-haul gateway, handling the lion’s share of Brazil’s intercontinental traffic.

Serving São Paulo, GRU reaches around 81 regularly-served nonstop destinations, including roughly 37 intercontinental routes. Top destinations include Panama City, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Brasília and Recife.

Main airlines: LATAM, GOL, Azul and international carriers such as Ethiopian Airlines. See the full route map for GRU on AirportRoutes →

✈️ Viracopos (VCP)

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Viracopos lies near Campinas, about 100 km northwest of São Paulo, and serves the wider São Paulo metropolitan area as a low-cost and cargo gateway. It is the principal hub of Azul and one of the busiest cargo airports in South America.

Serving Campinas, VCP reaches around 63 regularly-served nonstop destinations, the great majority of them domestic. Top destinations include Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Salvador.

Main airlines: Azul, GOL, LATAM and Lufthansa. See the full route map for VCP on AirportRoutes →

🛬 Tancredo Neves / Confins (CNF)

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Belo Horizonte’s main airport sits at Confins, about 38 km north of the city, and is named after Tancredo Neves, the president-elect who died before taking office in 1985. It has taken over most of the capital of Minas Gerais’s scheduled traffic from the older, closer-in Pampulha airport.

Serving Belo Horizonte, CNF reaches around 51 regularly-served nonstop destinations, almost all of them domestic. Top destinations include Campinas, São Paulo, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília.

Main airlines: Azul, GOL, LATAM and Copa Airlines. See the full route map for CNF on AirportRoutes →

🏖️ Rio Galeão (GIG)

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Rio de Janeiro’s international airport sits on Governador Island in Guanabara Bay and is named after bossa nova composer Antônio Carlos “Tom” Jobim. It is the city’s long-haul and intercontinental gateway, complementing the close-in Santos Dumont airport that handles the Rio–São Paulo shuttle.

Serving Rio de Janeiro, GIG reaches around 42 regularly-served nonstop destinations, including roughly 16 intercontinental routes. Top destinations include São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Brasília, Salvador and Vitória.

Main airlines: GOL, LATAM, Azul, JetSMART and Flybondi. See the full route map for GIG on AirportRoutes →

🏛️ Brasília (BSB)

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Brasília’s airport serves Brazil’s purpose-built capital and is named after Juscelino Kubitschek, the president who founded the city in 1960. Thanks to its central position in the country, it is one of Brazil’s most important domestic connecting hubs.

Serving Brasília, BSB reaches around 39 regularly-served nonstop destinations, mostly domestic. Top destinations include São Paulo, Campinas, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Recife.

Main airlines: LATAM, GOL, Azul, TAP Air Portugal and Copa Airlines. See the full route map for BSB on AirportRoutes →

🌴 Salvador (SSA)

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The capital of Bahia, Salvador is one of Brazil’s oldest cities and the gateway to the northeast’s beaches and historic coast. Its airport anchors air travel across the region and carries a growing slate of seasonal European charters.

Serving Salvador, SSA reaches around 34 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Campinas, Belo Horizonte and Recife.

Main airlines: GOL, Azul, LATAM, TAP Air Portugal and Sky Airline. See the full route map for SSA on AirportRoutes →

🏝️ Recife/Guararapes (REC)

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Recife’s airport, named after the sociologist Gilberto Freyre, is one of the northeast’s busiest and a key Azul gateway for the region. It connects the coastal cities of Pernambuco and beyond to the rest of Brazil and to Europe.

Serving Recife, REC reaches around 32 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Campinas, Belo Horizonte and Brasília.

Main airlines: Azul, GOL, LATAM, TAP Air Portugal and JetSMART. See the full route map for REC on AirportRoutes →

🌳 Belém (BEL)

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Belém sits near the mouth of the Amazon and is the gateway to the eastern Amazon basin. The city hosted the COP30 UN climate summit in late 2025, putting its Val de Cans airport in the international spotlight.

Serving Belém, BEL reaches around 29 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include São Paulo, Campinas, Belo Horizonte, Santarém and Brasília.

Main airlines: Azul, GOL, LATAM and Surinam Airways. See the full route map for BEL on AirportRoutes →

🌲 Manaus (MAO)

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Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon, depends on air travel: there are no road links to much of the rest of Brazil. Its airport is both a passenger gateway for Amazon tourism and one of Brazil’s most important cargo hubs, tied to the Manaus Free Trade Zone’s factories.

Serving Manaus, MAO reaches around 28 regularly-served nonstop destinations, with limited international service to Panama City. Top destinations include São Paulo, Campinas, Brasília, Belém and Fortaleza.

Main airlines: Azul, GOL, LATAM and Copa Airlines. See the full route map for MAO on AirportRoutes →

🏙️ Congonhas (CGH)

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Congonhas sits just 8 km from downtown São Paulo and is the city’s close-in domestic airport. Famous for its short runways hemmed in by the city, it is one of the busiest domestic airports in South America and the São Paulo end of the busy Rio–São Paulo air bridge.

Serving São Paulo, CGH reaches around 26 regularly-served nonstop destinations — all of them domestic. Top destinations include Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Curitiba, Salvador and Belo Horizonte.

Main airlines: LATAM, GOL and Azul. See the full route map for CGH on AirportRoutes →

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