Anyone flown into SBCJ (Carajas, Brazil)

[Buz40]

Have a trip coming up and received the security brief from Universal. Some interesting stuff. They make Brazil sound pretty scary right now. I'm looking for someone who's been down there a bit and can give some info.

Carajas seems to be more of a quiet, safer area unlike the coast, from some of the internet searches I've done. Would that be a good assumption?

Do you hire the extra security for your crew and or aircraft?

What hotels have you stayed in within a few miles of the airport? I've found a few but can't find reviews of them so I was hoping someone here had first hand experience with one or two.

And any other info you could provided would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

[SansPlane]

Probably where many entities get "their" information:

Here

Here

 

[sigler]

Dude if you don't absolutely have to go to SBCJ, then don't. It's a city in the middle of nowhere and I'm not even sure if the "controllers" would speak English. I haven't been there but I bet there's only one or two decent hotels and don't worry about them being near the airport since it's such a small place. It's a mining town and that's pretty much all there is to it. The State capital is Belem, which while still a sh!thole, it's a much bigger and better structured city and even features a Hilton. If you go to the main airports I wouldn't worry about hiring security for your aircraft, the thing to worry about in Brazil is people trying to steal you and your money. Where else do you have to go down there?

 

[Buz40]

Probably where many entities get "their" information:

Here

Here

Good stuff, thanks. A lot of what the security report from Universal sent.

 

[Buz40]

Dude if you don't absolutely have to go to SBCJ, then don't. It's a city in the middle of nowhere and I'm not even sure if the "controllers" would speak English. I haven't been there but I bet there's only one or two decent hotels and don't worry about them being near the airport since it's such a small place. It's a mining town and that's pretty much all there is to it. The State capital is Belem, which while still a sh!thole, it's a much bigger and better structured city and even features a Hilton. If you go to the main airports I wouldn't worry about hiring security for your aircraft, the thing to worry about in Brazil is people trying to steal you and your money. Where else do you have to go down there?

Unfortunately thats were they want to go, specifically cause its a mining town. So no Hilton for us. Trust me, after doing some more research, I'd rather not step one foot in the entire country. I could much rather go for St. Kitts.....

 

[Sycamore SAm]

There is nothing around, but the airport is well equipped. If you have a good handler the trip will be flawless. You will need to clear customs in Belem. Expect to spend two hours on the ground for customs.

As for hotels, don't expect Hilton/Marriott quality. There is only one real hotel you can stay at.

 

[Buz40]

Well all things considered, it went pretty well. Universal did all the planning and since no one in this area speaks English the handler from Manaus stayed with us in Carajas. We took care of his hotel and food and he pretty much hung out with us the whole time to translate.

Clear in Manaus. Its way easier than Belem. I've heard of the long turns in Belem. Manaus was an hour and only because they were using one fuel truck. The other one was broken. On the way out we would've had a 45 min turn had it not been for the delay in catering. The outbound turn only took an hour and fifteen.

Airport is well secured with 24hr police. I can't remember the name of the hotel we stayed in, but we kinda got shafted there. It was new, but we could only stay one night then had to move to a not so new place. I'm told that 15 days notice is required to get a room. The safety of the place seemed pretty good. Not at all what I was expecting. I'm guessing the violence of the big cities has not spread to here yet.

Thanks to all who responded and hopefully this info will help someone else in the future.