Top 50 Busiest Airports in South America by Flights per Day

Flights per day · South America

South America’s busiest airports ranked by average daily departing flights, highlighting the continent’s primary airline hubs and the airports supporting the highest levels of aviation activity.

Updated: July 18, 2026

Airports across South America support a diverse aviation network linking large metropolitan areas, regional cities, and international destinations. Many of the continent’s busiest airports serve as major airline hubs that coordinate extensive domestic and regional route networks.

This ranking highlights the busiest airports in South America based on the average number of departing flights per day. Airports with the highest departure counts typically serve as key operational centers for national carriers and low-cost airlines.

High daily departure volumes often reflect strong domestic travel demand and hub-based airline operations. Comparing airports using this metric helps identify which South American airports handle the highest levels of daily aviation activity and play the largest role in the region’s air transport network.

Top ranked
581
Most domestic flights
402
Most international flights
175

Airport Map

Switch between a flat map and a draggable globe.

The table below lists the 50 busiest airports in South America ranked by departing flights per day. Airports with the highest departure counts typically serve large domestic networks and act as important hubs for regional and international air travel.

Top 50 Busiest Airports in South America by Flights per Day

50 airports · Flights per day · South America

# Airport Flights per day
1 Colombia flag Bogotá (BOG) 581
2 Brazil flag São Paulo (GRU) 537
3 Perú flag Lima (LIM) 303
4 Brazil flag São Paulo (CGH) 271
5 Chile flag Santiago (SCL) 229
6 Argentina flag Buenos Aires (AEP) 207
7 Brazil flag Rio de Janeiro (GIG) 167
8 Brazil flag Campinas (VCP) 166
9 Colombia flag Rionegro (MDE) 156
10 Brazil flag Brasília (BSB) 148
11 Brazil flag Belo Horizonte (CNF) 139
12 Argentina flag Buenos Aires (EZE) 106
13 Brazil flag Recife (REC) 92
14 Brazil flag Fortaleza (FOR) 82
15 Brazil flag Salvador (SSA) 81
16 Colombia flag Santiago de Cali (CLO) 81
17 Colombia flag Cartagena de Indias (CTG) 77
18 Brazil flag Rio de Janeiro (SDU) 65
19 Brazil flag Porto Alegre (POA) 64
20 Ecuador flag Quito (UIO) 61
21 Brazil flag Curitiba (CWB) 54
22 Ecuador flag Guayaquil (GYE) 49
23 Brazil flag Belém (BEL) 48
24 Brazil flag Florianópolis (FLN) 39
25 Colombia flag Barranquilla (BAQ) 38
26 Colombia flag Santa Marta (SMR) 38
27 Brazil flag Manaus (MAO) 36
28 Colombia flag Pereira (PEI) 36
29 Colombia flag Bucaramanga (BGA) 34
30 Argentina flag Córdoba (COR) 34
31 Bolivia flag Santa Cruz (VVI) 33
32 Venezuela flag Caracas (CCS) 31
33 Brazil flag Maceió (MCZ) 31
34 Brazil flag Vitória (VIX) 31
35 Brazil flag Goiânia (GYN) 30
36 Colombia flag San Andrés (ADZ) 30
37 Brazil flag Cuiabá (CGB) 28
38 Argentina flag Mendoza (MDZ) 28
39 Brazil flag Natal (NAT) 27
40 Brazil flag Porto Seguro (BPS) 27
41 Chile flag Antofagasta (ANF) 26
42 Argentina flag San Carlos de Bariloche (BRC) 26
43 Uruguay flag Montevideo (MVD) 24
44 Brazil flag Foz do Iguaçu (IGU) 22
45 Brazil flag São Luís (SLZ) 22
46 Bolivia flag Cochabamba (CBB) 21
47 Chile flag Concepción (CCP) 21
48 Bolivia flag El Alto (LPB) 20
49 Brazil flag João Pessoa (JPA) 20
50 Colombia flag Cúcuta (CUC) 19
# Airport Flights per day
41 Chile flag Antofagasta (ANF) 26
25 Colombia flag Barranquilla (BAQ) 38
11 Brazil flag Belo Horizonte (CNF) 139
23 Brazil flag Belém (BEL) 48
1 Colombia flag Bogotá (BOG) 581
10 Brazil flag Brasília (BSB) 148
29 Colombia flag Bucaramanga (BGA) 34
6 Argentina flag Buenos Aires (AEP) 207
12 Argentina flag Buenos Aires (EZE) 106
8 Brazil flag Campinas (VCP) 166
32 Venezuela flag Caracas (CCS) 31
17 Colombia flag Cartagena de Indias (CTG) 77
46 Bolivia flag Cochabamba (CBB) 21
47 Chile flag Concepción (CCP) 21
37 Brazil flag Cuiabá (CGB) 28
21 Brazil flag Curitiba (CWB) 54
30 Argentina flag Córdoba (COR) 34
50 Colombia flag Cúcuta (CUC) 19
48 Bolivia flag El Alto (LPB) 20
24 Brazil flag Florianópolis (FLN) 39
14 Brazil flag Fortaleza (FOR) 82
44 Brazil flag Foz do Iguaçu (IGU) 22
35 Brazil flag Goiânia (GYN) 30
22 Ecuador flag Guayaquil (GYE) 49
49 Brazil flag João Pessoa (JPA) 20
3 Perú flag Lima (LIM) 303
33 Brazil flag Maceió (MCZ) 31
27 Brazil flag Manaus (MAO) 36
38 Argentina flag Mendoza (MDZ) 28
43 Uruguay flag Montevideo (MVD) 24
39 Brazil flag Natal (NAT) 27
28 Colombia flag Pereira (PEI) 36
19 Brazil flag Porto Alegre (POA) 64
40 Brazil flag Porto Seguro (BPS) 27
20 Ecuador flag Quito (UIO) 61
13 Brazil flag Recife (REC) 92
7 Brazil flag Rio de Janeiro (GIG) 167
18 Brazil flag Rio de Janeiro (SDU) 65
9 Colombia flag Rionegro (MDE) 156
15 Brazil flag Salvador (SSA) 81
36 Colombia flag San Andrés (ADZ) 30
42 Argentina flag San Carlos de Bariloche (BRC) 26
31 Bolivia flag Santa Cruz (VVI) 33
26 Colombia flag Santa Marta (SMR) 38
5 Chile flag Santiago (SCL) 229
16 Colombia flag Santiago de Cali (CLO) 81
45 Brazil flag São Luís (SLZ) 22
2 Brazil flag São Paulo (GRU) 537
4 Brazil flag São Paulo (CGH) 271
34 Brazil flag Vitória (VIX) 31

Methodology

  • Ranked by Flights per day
  • Scope: South America
  • Updated automatically when airport destination data refreshes

Airports are ranked based on the average number of departing flights per day. Only departures are counted when calculating flight activity. Data is compiled from airline schedule and operational datasets, with airports handling the highest average number of daily departures appearing at the top of the ranking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do domestic routes account for many flights in South America?

Large countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia rely heavily on domestic aviation to connect distant cities. These domestic networks generate a high number of daily departures from major hub airports.

How do geography and distance influence flight activity in South America?

Long distances between major population centers and challenging terrain in some regions make air travel an important transportation option. This often leads to strong demand for domestic and regional flights.

Which types of airlines operate most flights in the region?

South American airport traffic typically includes a mix of full-service national carriers and rapidly growing low-cost airlines. Both play a major role in generating daily departures across the region’s domestic and regional networks.

Explore More Airport Rankings

Browse other airport ranking pages.

Flights per day

Top 100 Busiest Airports in the World by Flights per Day

The world’s busiest airports ranked by average daily departing flights, highlighting the global airline hubs that handle the highest levels of flight activity across international and domestic aviation networks.

Top 30 Busiest Airports in Oceania by Flights per Day

Oceania’s busiest airports ranked by average daily departing flights, highlighting the region’s major aviation gateways and the airports handling the highest levels of flight activity.

Top 50 Busiest Airports in Africa by Flights per Day

Africa’s busiest airports ranked by average daily departing flights, highlighting the major aviation gateways and airline hubs that handle the highest levels of flight activity across the continent.

Top 50 Busiest Airports in Asia by Flights per Day

Asia’s busiest airports ranked by average daily departing flights, showcasing the major airline hubs and rapidly growing aviation gateways that support the region’s extensive domestic and international route networks.

Top 50 Busiest Airports in Europe by Flights per Day

Europe’s busiest airports ranked by average daily departing flights, highlighting the major airline hubs and regional gateways that handle the highest levels of aviation activity across the continent.

Top 50 Busiest Airports in North America by Flights per Day

North America’s busiest airports ranked by the average number of departing flights each day, highlighting the continent’s most active airline hubs and the airports handling the highest levels of daily aviation traffic.