TRANSPORT - Buses to Congonhas Airport

São Paulo is home to a second airport, called Aeroporto de Congonhas. This airport is the base for domestic flights and some flights for South America, especially Buenos Aires (which is almost home, since it is closer than many other destinations inside Brazil). Unlike Guarulhos, the international airport, this is inside the city (actually so much so that it does not operate during the night, so as to allow its neighbors to sleep a bit… during the day they simply can’t).

So Congonhas is much handier if you are going somewhere inside Brazil. Flights to Rio de Janeiro will leave from here, in the so-called Ponte Aérea (literally ‘air bridge’, meaning a shuttle, as airplanes come back and forth from Rio to São Paulo all day long).

Taking a taxi to Congonhas, which appropriately is located in the neighborhood called Aeroporto, in the south zone of São Paulo, will be much cheaper than a ride to Guarulhos.

Some buses also will lead you there, just remember buses in São Paulo have no room for luggage, so if you are carrying large volumes forget this option.

Bus lines serving the Congonhas Airport:

875A or 875M (destination AEROPORTO) – both go along Av. Gal Olímpio da Silveira and Av. São João (downtown), passing in front of the Marechal Deodoro subway station, then they go up R. da Consolação and all along Av. Paulista, then on to R. Domingos de Moraes and Av. Jabaquara, as far as the Saúde subway station. From this point on their routes diverge a bit within the neighborhood known as Moema, but both will go as far as the Congonhas Airport. If you want some instructions on how to take a bus in São Paulo and   how to pay for it, check my previous posts on the topic.

From the Conceição or Jabaquara subway stations you may take another bus, 5128-10 (also destination AEROPORTO). If you are coming from Guarulhos (Cumbica Airport), instead of taking a taxi, you may take the coach “Airport Bus Service” straight to Congonhas (it stops at the Tietê bus terminal and at the República subway station). See times and other details here.