Vitoria Airport Guide: Espirito Santo’s Renewed Gateway
Vitoria Airport serves Espirito Santo from a modern 2018 terminal run by Zurich Airport Brasil. See its runways, airlines, routes and transport links.
By The Aviation Hub
5 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
The capital of Espirito Santo sits on an island off Brazil’s south eastern coast, and its airport sits right in the city. Vitoria Airport, officially Eurico de Aguiar Salles Airport, handled around 3.6 million passengers in 2025. A long delayed new terminal finally opened in 2018, and a Swiss operator took over the following year. It links the state’s ports, steel and oil industries with Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.
Vitoria Airport at a Glance
The codes are VIX and SBVT. The airport lies in the Goiabeiras district, about 6 miles (10 km) from downtown Vitoria, at an elevation of just 34 ft (10 m). It has two runways and one passenger terminal, with the old terminal now used for cargo.
Traffic reached about 3.64 million passengers in 2025, up 14 per cent, with around 46,000 aircraft movements. Gol treats Vitoria Airport as a focus city, and LATAM and Azul also operate. Zurich Airport Brasil, a subsidiary of Flughafen Zurich AG, has run the field since 2019 under a 30 year concession. Flight information is on the airport’s official website.
How Vitoria Got Its Airport
The airport was built in the 1930s and was known for decades as Goiabeiras Airport, after its neighbourhood. A concrete runway and a passenger terminal were added in 1943. Infraero, the state airport company, took over in 1975.
Accidents marked the piston era. A Douglas C-47 vanished after take off on a training flight in 1949, and a Curtiss C-46 hit a hill short of the runway in 1955. In May 1962 a Cruzeiro do Sul Convair 240 struck a tree on final approach, killing 28 of the 31 people on board. In May 2006 the airport was renamed after Eurico de Aguiar Salles, a local politician, law professor and former Minister of Justice who died in 1959.
The modernisation of Vitoria Airport became a long saga. Work began in 2005 on a project budgeted at around 300 million reais. It stalled in 2006 and 2007 amid allegations of overpricing and diverted funds. The new terminal finally opened in April 2018, and the old building became an international cargo terminal.
Runways at Vitoria Airport
Runway 02/20 is the longer runway at 2,058 m (6,752 ft). Runway 06/24 measures 1,750 m (5,742 ft). Both are asphalt and 45 m (148 ft) wide.
The runways are short by international standards, which limits the airport to narrow body jets on domestic routes. The Boeing 737-800 and MAX 8 of Gol, the Airbus A320 family of LATAM and the Embraer E195 and ATR 72 of Azul all operate comfortably. Wide body or long haul flights would need a longer runway.
The field sits close to the sea and the city, with hills inland. Coastal winds and tropical showers are the main weather factors.
Terminals and Airlines
The 2018 terminal at Vitoria Airport has jet bridges, a larger check in hall and more shops and restaurants than its cramped predecessor. Zurich Airport Brasil has focused on improving the passenger experience and attracting new routes.
Gol has the largest presence, flying Boeing 737s to Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro Galeao, Salvador, Sao Paulo Congonhas and Sao Paulo Guarulhos, with seasonal flights to Recife. LATAM serves Brasilia, Galeao, Congonhas and Guarulhos with Airbus A320 family jets, plus a seasonal Fortaleza link.
Azul flies to Belo Horizonte Confins, Campinas and Recife, connecting passengers into its national network. There are no scheduled international flights.
Routes and Destinations
Sao Paulo is the dominant market, served at both Congonhas and Guarulhos by Gol and LATAM. Congonhas suits business travellers heading into the city, while Guarulhos offers international connections. Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia follow, carrying government, oil and business traffic. The state’s economy leans on the iron ore port at Tubarao, steelmaking and offshore oil and gas, and those industries generate steady demand for weekday flights.
Belo Horizonte and Campinas give Azul passengers access to its hubs, and Salvador and Recife link the north east. Seasonal flights to Fortaleza and Recife add holiday capacity in the Brazilian summer, from December to February.
Cargo is moderate. The old terminal handles international freight, much of it linked to the state’s industries. Vitoria Airport handled almost 19,000 tonnes in 2019, though more recent figures have not been widely published.
Getting to and from Vitoria Airport
There is no rail link. The airport sits in the city’s northern districts, close to the Federal University of Espirito Santo and Camburi beach. A taxi or app ride to downtown Vitoria takes around 15 to 25 minutes depending on traffic.
City buses run past the airport and are the cheapest option, though they are slow with luggage. Vila Velha, across the bay, is around 30 to 40 minutes away by road. Serra and the industrial areas to the north are reached by the main coastal highway.
Parking sits in front of the terminal. Rental car desks operate in arrivals, useful for travellers heading to the mountain towns inland or the beaches of the state’s coast.
Spotting and Photography
Vitoria Airport is a compact venue with a good mix of Gol, LATAM and Azul aircraft. The two runways mean aircraft arrive from several directions, and the coastal setting adds interest.
The Camburi beachfront, close to the airport, gives views of aircraft over the water on some approaches. Mornings tend to be clearer than afternoons, when tropical showers build. The terminal windows overlook the apron.
Stay on public land, keep clear of fences and follow instructions from airport staff and police. Keep valuable camera gear close in busy public areas.
What Comes Next
Zurich Airport Brasil’s concession runs into the late 2040s. The company won Vitoria together with Macae, the offshore oil base to the south, and it also runs Florianopolis, so it brings real Brazilian experience to the job. Its priorities are filling the new terminal, adding routes and improving efficiency. Traffic in 2025 almost matched the 2012 record of around 3.64 million, which shows the recovery is complete.
A longer runway would open the door to international flights, but that would be a major and costly project in a dense city. The verdict is steady growth within the current footprint. See Brazil’s airports on the Airports of the World map.
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