Guarulhos and Congonhas have more than 100 flights canceled

Strong wind gusts recorded in the city exceed 90 km/h and have also caused water shortages and power outages in more than 2 million properties in Greater São Paulo. Firefighters received 514 calls about falling trees and São Paulo City Hall and the state government closed public parks.

On Wednesday afternoon, the situation was problematic in Congonhas. Images sent to O GLOBO show the airport counters full.

Pharmacist Camila Reis, 30, learned that the flight scheduled to leave Congonhas airport at 5 p.m., bound for Rio de Janeiro, had been canceled when she arrived at the boarding station two hours in advance. She also specifies that the information was only transmitted via the application, the panel available on site for flight control being frozen.

— The airport is in total chaos, there is no one to provide information. I’ve been waiting in line for almost an hour and I’m still far from the ticket counter, which is the only place they have to try to book another flight. I will try to return to Rio today, but the situation is still good, he said.

Until 6 p.m., at least 78 takeoffs, which were to take place between the early hours of this Wednesday and the end of the day, were canceled in Congonhas. The most affected destination is Rio de Janeiro, with 24 flights, followed by Curitiba, with 10 cases and Belo Horizonte, with 9. At the arrivals level, the situation was also problematic. 38 flights scheduled to land at the airport were diverted to other cities and another 55 were canceled at their point of origin.

The airlines that have recorded the highest number of cancellations from Congonhas to date are Latam (38 cases), Gol (27) and Azul (12).

Contacted, Latam indicated that it “offered the necessary assistance to the passengers concerned. Finally, the company emphasizes that it adopts all technical and operational security measures to guarantee a safe journey for all”. Gol claims that “concerned customers will receive the facilities provided according to their needs.” Azul has not responded yet.

The concessionaire Aena informs, in a note, that the airport “is operating normally, being open to receive landings and takeoffs.” The company says the cancellations and diversions were “operational decisions by the airlines due to strong winds with gusts over 90 km/h (..) Aena recommends that passengers with scheduled trips contact the airlines for the status of their flight.”

Guarulhos airport was less affected. The data of FlightRadar 24 show 37 canceled takeoffs, mostly domestic flights, with the exception of two Latam flights to Lisbon, Portugal. Regarding arrivals, 21 flights were diverted to other cities and 35 were originally canceled.

GLOBO contacted GRU Airport, which reported that operations were affected by the wind and that as of 4:20 p.m., “with the improvement of weather conditions, arrival operations began to normalize. Departure flights from Guarulhos continue normally. GRU Airport reinforces its commitment to ensuring the safety and efficiency of operations, even in adverse weather conditions.”

The extratropical cyclone that formed in the South Atlantic continues to affect the climate of the state of São Paulo, which records strong winds. According to Civil Defense, the cities most affected by the phenomenon are those on the coast. Santos recorded gusts of up to 83.3 km/h this morning and Bertioga 87.8 km/h.

In the capital, the most critical moment was the 81.7 km/h mark this morning. Winds above 50 km/h were recorded in at least nine other cities in the interior and the metropolitan region. The winds blow mainly in a South-East-East direction.

The gale was already predicted since Monday, when the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) issued a storm and storm warning for the entire coast of the southern region and São Paulo.

When an extratropical cyclone forms, it creates an area of ​​low pressure that alters large-scale wind circulation. In this phenomenon, the air around the low pressure accelerates to fill the vacuum generated by the drop in atmospheric pressure in the cyclone core.

The greater the pressure contrast between the center of the depression and surrounding areas (called a pressure gradient), the stronger the gusts tend to be. In the case of São Paulo, the cyclone that caused rain yesterday continued to move into the ocean, keeping the pressure relatively low and reinforcing this gradient.

With the sky more open this morning, the surface received more solar radiation, which warms the air near the ground and intensifies the phenomenon. Warming causes high layers of air to descend near the surface, intensifying gusts even in the absence of rain.