# Canoas Air Force Base (QNS)

> Porto Alegre, BR · IATA: QNS · Medium Airport

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `QNS` |
| City | Porto Alegre |
| Country | BR |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 8 m |
| Cargo | ❌ |
| GPS | -29.94593, -51.14441 |

## Description

For a little over five months in 2024 — from 9 May to 21 October — airline passengers bound for Porto Alegre landed on a Brazilian Air Force runway. Canoas Air Force Base (IATA: QNS) took over scheduled Latam and Azul services after record floods in Rio Grande do Sul submerged Salgado Filho Airport, with Fraport running a makeshift terminal in a nearby shopping centre. Cargo was never part of that arrangement: the base has no commercial freight terminal, no scheduled freighter service and no customs office open to forwarders. Since Salgado Filho (POA) reopened in October 2024, air freight for the state has run through it again, feeding the BR-116 and BR-290 highways. Multimodal shipments switch to the deep-water Port of Rio Grande some 300 km to the south, while Florianópolis (FLN) is the nearest alternative airport. Canoas has returned to its military role and is not an option for commercial air cargo.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/canoas-air-force-base-airport-qns](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/canoas-air-force-base-airport-qns)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/canoas-air-force-base-airport-qns](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/canoas-air-force-base-airport-qns)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/canoas-air-force-base-airport-qns/llm-summary*