AIRPORTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY

The crash of a small plane into a residential building in Belo Horizonte has reignited an old but increasingly urgent discussion: what are the risks faced by those who live in urban centers neighboring airports? The case occurred on May 4, when an aircraft with five occupants crashed into a three-story building in the Silveira neighborhood, in the Northeast region of the capital of Minas Gerais, a few minutes after taking off from Pampulha Airport. Three people died, two were hospitalized in stable condition, and there were no injuries to residents or structural damage to the building, according to information from Reuters.

The accident in Belo Horizonte had limited impact outside the aircraft, but the scenario could have been different in a busier area, with a greater concentration of pedestrians, commerce, traffic or buildings. It is precisely this combination - runway, climb or approach route, housing, roads and buildings - that makes urban airports a permanent challenge for authorities, operators, residents and developers.

The preliminary dossier sent for investigation brings together historical tragedies involving airports surrounded by densely populated areas, such as Congonhas, in São Paulo; Nidolo, in Kinshasa; Songshan, in Taipei; and Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, in Buenos Aires. These cases help to show that the risk is not just inside the plane, but also in the territory around the runways.

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Why landings and takeoffs attract attentionAviation is one of the most regulated means of transport in the world. Even so, landing and takeoff moments continue to be the most sensitive for operational safety, because they involve low altitude, high crew workload, high speed and little time to respond in case of failure.

That's why some countries work with so-called public safety zones at the ends of runways. In the United Kingdom, for example, the government defines these areas as strips at the head of airports where urban development is restricted to control the number of people on the ground exposed to risk in the event of an accident during landing or takeoff. The central guideline is to avoid an increase in the number of people living, working or concentrating in these areas.

In Brazil, the technical equivalent appears in the Aerodrome Protection Zone Plans, which limit obstacles and construction heights around airports. DECEA explains that PBZPA establishes areas reserved for aerial maneuvers and restricts buildings that could put occupants at risk or affect flight safety.

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The risks for those who live nearby The debate usually gains strength after accidents, but the risks for residents of areas close to airports are broader and more everyday. The first and most obvious is the risk of impact on the ground, especially in areas close to the runway thresholds and in the approach and climb corridors. These are rare events, but of potentially high consequence when they occur in dense neighborhoods.

There is also the risk of leaving the track, as has occurred in some historical accidents; the risk of falling debris or components; the risk of hitting buildings, public roads and parking lots; and the risk of blocking emergency routes when the surroundings are very dense.

Another point is the presence of obstacles. Buildings, antennas, towers, cranes, rooftop equipment and temporary structures can interfere with safety if they exceed limits established for protected airspace. Transport Canada, in a manual on land use around aerodromes, notes that zoning rules may limit heights, prohibit certain uses and prevent installations that interfere with aeronautical signals or communications.

Life near airports also involves noise, especially on approach, takeoff and waiting routes. The WHO states that excessive noise can cause discomfort, sleep disturbances, increased risk of hypertension and other health impacts.

ICAO recommends that cities define noise zones around airports, considering population, urban growth and anticipated traffic.

Air pollution is another factor. A British Parliament report published in 2026 pointed out that residents near airports may be exposed to noise and pollutants emitted by aircraft, including nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter and ultrafine particles. The European Environment Agency also highlights that high concentrations of ultrafine particles have been found near some airports.

There are also indirect risks linked to land use, such as landfills, dumps, reservoirs or activities that attract birds and other animals. The FAA, the United States aviation agency, has specific guidance to avoid uses that attract dangerous fauna near airports, precisely because of the possibility of collisions with aircraft.

Congonhas: the contrast between the runway, buildings and the big cityImage credits: Air-Britain Photographic Collection/Mike Barker

Congonhas Airport is one of the most symbolic examples of this debate in Brazil. Located in a densely populated area of São Paulo, surrounded by avenues, businesses, residences and buildings, the terminal operates in the economic heart of the country's largest city.

At the same time, Congonhas is going through a modernization process. Aena, the Spanish operator responsible for the airport, announced an investment of more than R$2 billion to expand and modernize the structure, double the size of the terminal and increase operational capacity to 29.5 million passengers per year. The company also highlights that Congonhas is the second busiest airport in Brazil.

The contrast becomes more sensitive when the airport discussion meets urban policy. The city of São Paulo approved in 2023 the intermediate review of the Strategic Master Plan, through Law No. 17,975, and in 2024 the partial review of the Zoning Law, established by Law No. 18,081. City Hall informs that this zoning review sought to make the standard compatible with the new Master Plan.

The point is that part of these changes expanded areas of densification and verticalization associated with public transport axes. El País highlighted that one of the most controversial points of the review was the expansion of areas where tall buildings can be built, while an article in Jornal da USP pointed out that the areas of influence of urban transformation axes were expanded and could increase the city's dense and vertical territory by around 150%.

This data does not mean that any skyscraper can be built freely near Congonhas. Construction in areas under the influence of aerodromes must respect the restrictions of the Air Force Command and DECEA. But the contrast is real: the city encourages densification in certain urban areas, while aviation requires areas free from obstacles, height control and risk planning. In Congonhas, this tension appears more evident because the airport is inserted in an already saturated urban network.

What the sides sayFor airport operators and some mobility experts, central airports have an important function. They shorten commutes, connect economic centers, create jobs and reduce the need for long trips to more distant terminals. In the case of Congonhas, the expansion presented by Aena is defended as a modernization capable of improving efficiency, sustainability and quality of service.

The real estate market and advocates of urban densification follow the arguments and add that the terminals improve the use of infrastructure and in a way combat the disorderly expansion of the city. This is a logic adopted in many metropolises.

The divergence is whether this strategy can advance in the same way in areas under sensitive air routes, especially where there are central airports surrounded by dense neighborhoods.

Residents and critical urban planners, on the other hand, tend to see the problem from another lens: the more people live, work or circulate in areas close to landing and take-off routes, the greater the number of people exposed to noise, pollution and risk in the event of an accident. The criticism is not just about the airport, but about the lack of coordination between real estate licensing, risk maps, noise zones and public transparency.

Good public policy, in this case, does not fit into a simple answer. It's not just about maintaining or closing urban airports, nor about blocking all real estate development. The central point is to demand integrated planning: clear maps, respected limits, inspection, public consultation and a realistic assessment of how many people are being placed in areas of permanent risk or nuisance.

Accidents that show the importance of the debateThe history of aviation records episodes that help to understand why the use of land around airports needs to be treated with caution.

In 2007, flight TAM 3054 overshot the Congonhas runway during landing and hit the company's own building on the other side of Avenida Washington Luís. The accident left 199 people dead, including people on the ground, and became the biggest air tragedy in Brazilian history. CENIPA's final report is available in the ANAC collection, and the tragedy was recently analyzed again by the international press due to a documentary about the case.

Congonhas had already been the scene of another disaster in 1996. Flight TAM 402, a Fokker 100, crashed shortly after takeoff, hitting a residential area in Jabaquara. The FAA, in lessons learned material about the case, records that everyone on board died, in addition to four people on the ground.

Outside Brazil, the case of Kinshasa, in 1996, is one of the most extreme examples of risk for people on the ground. An Antonov An-32 freighter failed to gain height when taking off from Ndolo airport and plowed into a market area. The Aviation Safety Network records 237 deaths on the ground, while later international reports treated the episode as a tragedy of hundreds of victims.

In Buenos Aires, flight LAPA 3142 crashed during takeoff at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, in 1999. According to the Aviation Safety Network, 63 occupants and two people on the ground died. The case is often cited as involving an urban airport surrounded by a busy avenue and infrastructure.

In Taipei, TransAsia Flight 235 crashed into the Keelung River in 2015 after taking off from Songshan Airport. The Taiwanese transport investigation body records 43 deaths on board and injuries to two people on the ground. The accident gained repercussion because it occurred in an urban area, a few minutes after takeoff.

What needs to be observed going forwardImage credit: Wikipedia

The accident in Belo Horizonte does not allow us to conclude, alone, that urban airports are unsafe. It also does not authorize pointing out a cause before the technical conclusion of the investigation. But he remembers that the safety of residents around airports depends on decisions made long before an emergency: where to build, what height to allow, what type of use to authorize, how to map noise, how to monitor obstacles and how to prepare response routes.

In dense cities, the risk is never just aeronautical. He is also urban. It is in the design of the streets, the number of people exposed, the verticalization, the use of land, the circulation of vehicles, the presence of schools, businesses and housing in areas of greater operational sensitivity.

For residents, the minimum expected is transparency: accessible noise maps, clear protection zones, construction inspection, complaint channels, emergency plans and public debate before new urban planning authorizations in areas close to runways and flight paths.

For airports and governments, the challenge is to balance connectivity and protection.

Hub airports can be useful, efficient and economically relevant. But when the city grows around them, safety cannot depend solely on the statistics that accidents are rare. It needs to appear in everyday planning - before another episode turns a residential street, an avenue or a building into an involuntary extension of the runway.

Source: Antena 1