Rivera International Airport
Rivera International Airport President General Óscar D. Gestido Binational Airport | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Aeropuertos Uruguay | ||||||||||
| Serves | Rivera, Uruguay Santana do Livramento, Brazil | ||||||||||
| Location | Rivera, Uruguay | ||||||||||
| Opened | 16 June 1979 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 712 ft (217 m) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°58′10″S 55°28′24″W / 30.96944°S 55.47333°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  RVY Location in Uruguay | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Sources: SkyVector,[1] GCM[2] | |||||||||||
Rivera International Airport, officially known as President General Óscar D. Gestido Binational Airport (IATA: RVY, ICAO: SURV), and formerly Cerro Chapeu International Airport, is an airport serving Rivera in the Rivera Department of Uruguay and the neighboring Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento. It is operated by Aeropuertos Uruguay, and is named after former Uruguayan president Óscar Diego Gestido.
Location
The airport is located in Rivera in the Rivera Department in the coastal region of Uruguay.[3][4] The airport is located approximately 7 mi (11 km) from Rivera,[5] close to the Brazilian town of Santana do Livramento across the border.[6]
History
The airport is named after Óscar Diego Gestido, former President of Uruguay.[7] In January 2023, an announcement was made to declare the airport as binational following a meeting between Uruguayan president Lacalle Pou and Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Montevideo.[8][9] In August 2023, the airport was declared as a binational airport after an agreement was signed between the governments of Uruguay and Brazil, making it the first binational airport in Latin America and second in the world.[10][6][9] The binational status allowed flights operating between Brazilian airports to be treated as domestic flights at the airport, thereby reducing the statutory levies and facilitating the movement of passengers and cargo between the two countries.[11][12]
In 2023, the airport underwent modernization at an estimated cost of US$ 13 million. It was part of the planned modernization programme to upgrade six airports in Uruguay. The programme included the modernisation and expansion of the passenger terminal, improvements to the control tower, installation of new communications equipment, repaving of the main runway, installation of new lighting on the runway and taxiways, and addition of new buildings for fire and police.[8] The renovated airport was inaugurated by Uruguayan president Luis Lacalle Pou on 11 December 2023, in the presence of Uruguayan ministers and Brazilian officials including the Brazilian minister of foreign affairs Mauro Vieira, minister of ports and airports Silvio Costa Filho, and Eduardo Leite, the Governor of Rio Grande do Sul.[8][10][13]
Infrastructure
The airport has a single 1,830 m (6,000 ft)-long paved runway.[1][2] The main runway was repaved, and equipped with new lighting during the renovation in 2024.[8][10] The new passenger terminal was added in 2023.[10] It is one of the eight airports in the country that is managed by Aeropuertos Uruguay.[10]
Airlines and destinations
The airport is served only by Paranair which connects the airport with the Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo.[14]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Paranair | Montevideo[14] |
See also
References
- 1 2 "SURV – Rivera International Airport". SkyVector. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- 1 2 "Airport information for Rivera International Airport" – via Great Circle Mapper.
- ↑ "Rivera Binational Airport". Aeropuertos Uruguay. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ↑ "Presidente General Don Oscar D. Gestido International Airport (RVY)". Airport Profile. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ↑ "Presidente General Don Oscar D. Gestido International airport". Bigorre.org. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- 1 2 "ANAC e Uruguai assinam acordo para binacionalização de terminal uruguaio" [ANAC and Uruguay sign agreement for binationalization of Uruguayan terminal]. ANAC (in Portuguese). 14 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ↑ "Statement by the President on the Death of President Oscar Gestido of Uruguay". Government of United States. 6 December 1967. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "Gobierno inauguró en Rivera el primer aeropuerto binacional de América Latina" [Government inaugurates in Rivera the first binational airport in Latin America]. Presidencia de la República Uruguay. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- 1 2 "Uruguay y Brasil declararon binacional al aeropuerto de Rivera" [Uruguay and Brazil declared Rivera airport binational]. Uruguay Presidencia (in Spanish). 14 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Uruguay inaugurated the first binational airport in Latin America and the second globally". Uruguay XXI. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ↑ "Brasil e Uruguai acordam uso compartilhado do aeroporto de Rivera" [Brazil and Uruguay agree shared use of Rivera airport]. Agência Brasil (in Portuguese). 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ↑ "Inauguración del aeropuerto binacional de Rivera marca nuevo hito en la integración regional" [Inauguration of the binational airport of Rivera marks a new milestone in regional integration]. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ↑ "Leite participa da reinauguração do aeroporto de Rivera, no Uruguai" [Leite participates in the reopening of the Rivera airport, in Uruguay]. Governo do Estado do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (in Portuguese). 11 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- 1 2 "Paranair lanza nueva ruta doméstica en Uruguay: Montevideo-Rivera" [Paranair launches new domestic route in Uruguay: Montevideo-Rivera]. Aeronauticapy (in Spanish). 28 October 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.