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Aeroporto Regional de Canoa Quebrada - Dragao do Mar ARX / SBAC

Aracati, Ceara · Brazil · GRU Airport (awarded this airport in a 12-airport Northeast/Amazon regional-airport concession auction on Nov 27, 2025; contract addendum formalized Apr 2026; previously managed under an Infraero/Governo do Estado do Ceara arrangement)
3kpax · 2024
Limited hoursJet A-1
ICAO / IATASBAC / ARX
OperatorGRU Airport (awarded this airport in a 12-airport Northeast/Amazon regional-airport concession auction on Nov 27, 2025; contract addendum formalized Apr 2026; previously managed under an Infraero/Governo do Estado do Ceara arrangement)
Coordinates4.5686°S, 37.8047°W
Elevation118 ft · 36 m
Time zoneBRT (UTC-3, no DST)
Passengers / yr3,313 (2024)
CustomsNo
Border controlNo
SchengenNo
FuelJet A-1
Bonded
AIP referenceSBAC — AIP Brasil / DECEA
Operating hoursDaylight operations only, 0800-1800 local; no ILS or published night operations; PPR advisable outside posted hours
TerminalsSingle passenger terminal (approx. 2,600 sqm) with 2 boarding gates reached by ramp (no jet bridges), 5 aircraft parking stands; design capacity approx. 200,000 passengers/year against current traffic in the low thousands
Runways (1)
  • 09/27 · 1,800 m / 5,906 ft · 30 m wide · Asphalt
Small regional airport serving Aracati and the Canoa Quebrada beach resort on the Ceara coast; Azul currently flies ATR 72-600 equipment to Recife and will add an Embraer E195-E2 route to Belo Horizonte-Confins starting Oct 8, 2026 (on sale since May 2026), part of Azul's push into secondary Northeast leisure markets. The field was folded into GRU Airport's concession portfolio via a Nov 2025 federal auction (contract addendum signed Apr 2026) alongside 11 other Northeast/Amazon regional airports slated for roughly R$630 million in combined upgrades.

Services

Available On request / PPR Seasonal / ageing Unconfirmed / not listed
Ground handling Unconfirmed · 2 providers
GRU Airport (aerodrome concessionaire)
GRU Airport (Sao Paulo/Guarulhos concessionaire) took over management of SBAC/ARX in April 2026 under the federal AmpliAR regional-airports program (R$43.1M investment plan for apron/terminal/RESA works) -- independently confirmed via multiple 2026 Brazilian press sources (CNN Brasil, Valor Economico, TrendsCE). Airport was previously run under a state (SOP-CE) contract with Infraero (2023-2025) and briefly Dix Empreendimentos (2025). As licensed aerodrome administrator it is responsible for airside/apron facilitation at this very low-volume field (3,313 pax / 787 aircraft movements in 2024 per official stats). No independent third-party ground handling company was found operating at this station; unconfirmed whether ramp/baggage handling is performed by the concessionaire directly or left to the operating carrier.
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Unconfirmed
Verified 4 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras
Azul is the sole scheduled operator at ARX, flying ATR 72 turboprop service -- independently confirmed via multiple Brazilian sources: Azul resumed commercial flights at Aracati in March 2026 after about a year without scheduled operations, and 2026 trade press (Panrotas, AIRWAY, Flap International, VOENEWS, Mercado e Eventos) confirms an additional Belo Horizonte(Confins)-Fortaleza-Aracati triangular routing launching October 2026 (CNF-ARX city pair). No independent third-party ramp/passenger handling company was found present at this small station; self-handled, Azul is the most consistent explanation given the airline's standard practice at comparably small regional ATR out-stations in Brazil, but this is not confirmed in airport-specific documentation.
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Unconfirmed
Verified 4 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Aircraft fuel On request
Avigás Nordeste (BR Aviation / Vibra Energia)
Operates the Parque de Abastecimento de Aeronaves (PAA) at SBAC/ARX, supplying Jet A-1 (Avgas also listed in AIP); independently confirmed via the Ceara state infrastructure secretariat (SOP-CE) website, which names 'Avigas Nordeste (BR Aviation)' as operator of the airport fuel depot. CNPJ 03.948.059/0004-47 is registered at the airport's own address (Rodovia CE-040 Km 137, Aracati), confirming the company is genuinely on-site rather than a group-level claim. ROTAER/AIP data show a daily service window with fuelling outside those hours available on request via advance phone contact; the previously drafted 'Mon-Fri, 48h notice' figures are not supported by sourced AIP data and have been removed to avoid false precision. · Daily within AIP-published hours; outside-hours fuelling by advance phone request (exact current notice window unconfirmed since GRU Airport's Apr-2026 takeover of the aerodrome)
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On request
Verified 4 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
De-icing Not listed
Part-145 line maintenance Not listed
Part-145 base maintenance Not listed
Component shops & overhaul Not listed
Flight catering Not listed
Aircraft cleaning Not listed
Ground support equipment Not listed
Cargo handling Not listed
Aviation security Unconfirmed
GRU Airport (aerodrome concessionaire)
As the licensed aerodrome operator/concessionaire for a commercial-service ANAC-certified aerodrome, responsible for AVSEC compliance (screening, access control) under ANAC regulation -- SBAC is confirmed listed among ANAC's AVSEC-monitored aerodromes in ANAC's own management report. No dedicated third-party aviation-security contractor identified for this station specifically -- staffing/outsourcing model unconfirmed.
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Unconfirmed
Verified 4 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Passenger & crew transport Not listed
Flight support PPR
GRU Airport (aerodrome concessionaire)
Airport operations/coordination desk requires prior permission. Phone (••• is independently confirmed as the current published SBAC contact in AISWEB's own aerodrome listing, with a backup ops/radio contact at (•••. Historical AIP/ROTAER snapshots show this aerodrome operating on a day-restricted schedule with narrow windows (e.g. roughly 1600-2100 local on specific weekdays, not a daily block), which conflicts with a previously drafted 'AD hours 1000-2200 / 24h PPR' figure that is not supported by sourced AIP data; corrected here. Exact current hours are unconfirmed pending GRU Airport's post-April-2026 publication update. · AIP shows day-restricted operating windows, not a daily 1000-2200 block; PPR coordination required via (••• -- exact current hours unconfirmed post-transition
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PPR
Verified 4 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Hotel & travel Not listed