Carrasco General Cesáreo L. Berisso International Airport:
is the largest airport in Uruguay serving the capital city of Montevideo. It is located northwest of Ciudad de la Costa in the Canelones department, within 5 km of Montevideo. The airport served 1,236,415 passengers in 2008, and is projected to serve more than 1,500,000 passengers by 2010.
In 2003, the government transferred the administration, operation and maintenance of the airport to a private investment group. The airport presently charges users an Airport Improvement Fee.
On February 3, 2007, construction began on a new and modern terminal that is located parallel to Runway 06/24. The new terminal, designed by Uruguayan born architect Rafael Viñoly, has the capacity to handle 3 million passengers a year, including a much larger parking area built for over 1200 vehicles. This new terminal building has four jetways, separate floors for arrivals and departures and a large viewing area on the top floor. The terminal has room for expansion for two additional jetways and a maximum capacity of 6 million passengers per year before the building would need actual enlargement. The new terminal was inaugurated on October 5, 2009 with official operations beginning on December 29, 2009. A new US$7 million dollar cargo terminal is also being constructed.
Runway 06/24 has been improved and lengthened to 3200 mts, which allows airlines to operate non-stop flights to the U.S. and Europe. Runway 01/19 was lengthened to 2250 mts and the third runway (rarely ever used) has now been taken out of use since the new terminal cuts across it.
