RIOgaleão, the concessionaire that operates Rio de Janeiro–Galeão/Tom Jobim International Airport, issued a traffic outlook indicating that nearly 1.7 million passengers will pass through the terminal during July 2026 – about 7 % more than the same period last year. Of that total, 580 000 are expected to be international travellers, up 19 % year-on-year, confirming the rebound of long-haul demand to Brazil’s second-largest city. Roughly 11,000 aircraft movements are scheduled for the month (7,600 domestic and 3,300 international). São Paulo, Salvador and Porto Alegre remain the top domestic O-D pairs, while Buenos Aires, Santiago and Panama City lead the international ranking. Two new routes headline the high-season timetable. GOL will inaugurate a direct service to New York/JFK, restoring a strategic business link that had been suspended since the pandemic. Aerolíneas Argentinas, meanwhile, is resuming flights to Córdoba, bolstering intra-Mercosur connectivity and giving Rio-based exporters faster access to Argentina’s industrial heartland. For mobility managers, the additional capacity means wider choice on trans-Hemisphere itineraries and shorter connection times for oil-and-gas, media and life-science crews that rely on Rio as a springboard to offshore platforms and regional shoots. Travellers should, however, budget extra time for immigration formalities: the Federal Police has warned that enhanced secondary screening will remain in place throughout the World Cup knock-out stages.
Source: RIOgaleão Press Release
