São Paulo Airports
The most populous city in Brazil – São Paulo has two commercial airports.
The largest airport is São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU). The second is São Paulo–Congonhas Airport (CGH).
Based on the last available data, these two airports combined handle more than 64 million passengers, which makes them the two busiest airports in Brazil. Both airports are to some degree operated by Infrareo, a state-owned enterprise responsible for managing commercial airports in Brazil.
There is also a third airport in São Paulo, named Campo de Marte, but it only handles private jets and light aircraft.
Read on and find out everything you need to know about airports in São Paulo!
Airports in São Paulo
São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU)
Guarulhos or Cumbica Airport, as the locals call it, is the busiest Brazilian airport, and the second busiest in Latin America. According to last available data, it handles over 43 million passengers.
It’s located 25 kilometers southeast of São Paulo’s city center.
There are 3 terminals at the airport, but only the first one is used for domestic flights.
Guarulhos Airport serves as a hub for LATAM Brasil, LATA Chile and Gol Transportes Aéreos.
Some of the busiest international routes to GRU airport are from Santiago, Chile, Miami, New York, USA, Buenos Aires, Madrid, etc.
São Paulo–Congonhas Airport (CGH)
The airport is located 8 km from downtown São Paulo, at Washington Luís Avenue, in the district of Campo Belo. It’s close to Ibirapuera Park, Avenida Berrine,and Avenida Paulista.
Congonhas Airport handles domestic flights only, so keep that in mind if you’re flying to São Paulo from other countries. Congonhas Airport handles over 21 million passengers. The airport serves as a hub for state carrier LATAM Brasil, but also handles flights by low-cost airlines like Gol Airlines and Azul Brazilian Airlines
How to get from Sao Paulo airports to Sao Paulo city center
Airports in Sao Paulo are relatively close to the city center and there’s a lot of transportation options available. You can get to the downtown of Sao Paulo either by car, bus, taxi, metro, or transfer.
Check out the table below for information about transportation options in Sao Paulo.
| São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) | São Paulo–Congonhas Airport (CGH) | |
| Bus | ✓ | ✓ |
| Taxi | ✓ | ✓ |
| Metro | ✓ | ✗ |
| Train | ✗ | ✓ |
| Airport shuttle | ✓ | ✓ |
| Transfers | ✓ | ✓ |
Which São Paulo airport is the best?
Choosing the best São Paulo airport to fly into depends on several things, most notably where you’re departing from, what the purpose of your visit to São Paulo is, and where your accommodation is located.
When traveling to São Paulo center
If you want to get as soon as possible to São Paulo city center, the best airport to land is Congonhas Airport. It’s pretty close but you still have to take a bus, taxi, Uber or tram to the center. If you go by car, it will take around 30 minutes to get there.
On the other hand, when you land at Guarulhos Airport, the quickest way to the center is by train (line 13) which takes about 45 minutes.
There are also red and blue buses which take you from the Guarulhos airport to the center. It takes an hour to get to Sao Paulo city center, but the waiting time between buses is three hours!
Traveling from one São Paulo airport to another
Luckily, there are easy ways to get from one airport to another.
GOL and LATAM airlines offer shuttle service to their passengers with connecting flights in the airport of Congonhas, as well as from Congonhas with connecting flights at Guarulhos Airport.
The shuttles are located on Terminals 2 and 3 and operate daily. The waiting time between shuttles is about 1 hour.
Traveling from São Paulo airports to other cities
Currently, there are no buses for traveling from São Paulo airports to other cities. But, you can travel from São Paulo to other cities by bus. You can find transportation on the GetByBus homepage.
Below are some of the most popular routes from Sao Paulo.
| Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro | Sao Paulo to Campinas | Sao Paulo to Paraty | Sao Paulo to Florianopolis |
São Paulo Airports Map
São Paulo airports FAQs
Yes! At the Guarulhos Airport, you can find a hotel Fast Sleep. It’s located on the ground floor of terminal 1.
There are a few hotels in the vicinity such as Caesar Business São Paulo International Airport, São Paulo Airport Marriott Hotel, Hotel Matiz Guarulhos.
There’s no hotel at the Congonhas Airport, but there are a few in the vicinity. Hotel Ponte Aerea is located just 600 m from the airport so you can get there on foot. You can take the airport shuttle to nearby hotels Ibis São Paulo Congonhas and Nobile Suites Congonhas.
Guarulhos Airport offers one hour of free WiFi and The Congonhas Airport offers two hours of free Wi-Fi (5 Mbps).
There are money exchange services and ATMs at the Congonhas Airport and luggage storage that works from 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM.
At the Guarulhos Airport, there is a money exchange service Cotação Exchange on the first floor of the landside. Malex do Brasil lockers are available on all three terminals and are open 24 hours.
It depends on the airline you’re traveling with, and whether you’re traveling internationally or domestically, but it’s best to be at the airport at least 2-3 hours before the flight.