1956: A Landmark Event for an Airport in Brazil

April 8, 1956

In the Brazilian state of Paranã, operations began for a newly relocated airport about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the downtown section of the city of Londrina. This milestone took place two decades after Londrina Airport had first gone into service with an unpaved runway in the city’s Vila Isabel neighborhood.

The change in setting for Londrina Airport made it possible for expanded and more modern infrastructure to meet the ever-growing need for air travel in the region. This airport was eventually renamed to honor José Richa (1934-2003), a longtime public official who served as mayor of Londrina from 1973 to 1977. In addition, he was governor of Paraná between 1987 and 1995. Richa was also a senator representing the state; he served in this position from 1978 to 1982 and again between 1987 and 1995.

Londrina-Gov. José Richa Airport, which underwent major renovations in 2000, is served by the following airlines: Azul Brazilian Airlines; GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes; and LATAM Airlines Brasil. The accompanying photo of the airport was taken in 2012.

Photo Credit: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mariordo; licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

For more information on airports in Brazil, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_Brazil