Galeão International Airport.

Aena, through its subsidiary Aena Desarrollo Internacional, has been awarded the contract for the concessionaire of Galeão International Airport, the main airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The contract was awarded following a public auction held on the B3 – São Paulo Stock Exchange.

Aena emerged as the successful bidder in the assisted sale process for 100% of the airport concessionaire, with a bid worth BRL 2.900 million (approximately EUR 483 million).

Of the total amount of the transaction, part will be paid out of Aena’s own funds, says the Spanish airport operator, while the remainder will be financed through a loan from a local financial institution, without recourse to the parent company. The concession runs until May 2039.

The purchase of the concessionaire’s shares is subject to the formalisation of the sale and purchase agreement with the current shareholders, once regulatory approvals and the other conditions set out in the terms of reference for the sale process have been met.

The transfer will take place once all these conditions have been met, and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.

“Like all of Aena’s operations, this one strictly adheres to the fundamental principle of creating value for its shareholders,” said Chairman and CEO of Aena, Maurici Lucena.

“Aena Brasil is, moreover, a clear example of Aena’s ability to generate value-adding synergies, as this brings the total number of airports successfully operating as part of the network to 18, thereby contributing to the development of air transport in the country.”

Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport is Brazil’s third-busiest airport in terms of passenger volume, with 17.8 million passengers in 2025, of whom 5.7 million were international. This makes it the country’s second-largest air gateway, behind only Guarulhos.

The current infrastructure has sufficient capacity to handle the expected traffic for the remainder of the concession period, and there is no contractual obligation to make further capital expenditure.

With this transaction, Aena has established itself as the operator of the largest network of concessioned airports in Brazil. Indeed, under the Aena Brasil brand, the Spanish airport operator has been fully managing six airports in the north-east of the country since 2020 and a further eleven in the states of São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais and Pará since 2022.

Among Aena Brasil’s most significant assets are Congonhas Airport in São Paulo – the country’s second largest – and Recife Airport in the Northeast.

With the addition of Rio de Janeiro – Galeão International Airport, Aena Brasil now manages 18 airports in Brazil, handling over 62 million passengers.

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