Carrasco, otherwise known as General Cesáreo L. Berisso International Airport, is the international airport of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. It is also the country’s largest airport and is located in the Carrasco neighbourhood, in the adjoining department of Canelones. It is cited as being one of the most efficient and traveller friendly airports in the world. The airport is named in honour of a pioneer of Uruguayan aviation and it also hosts an air base of the Uruguayan Air Force.

On 3 February 2007, work began on a new, modern terminal designed by the Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, with the capacity to handle three million passengers a year. The new terminal 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 six million passengers a year before the building would need to be enlarged. The new terminal was inaugurated on 5 October 2009 with operations beginning on 29 December of that year. A new cargo terminal was also constructed.

Runway 06/24 has been strengthened and lengthened to 3,200 metres, allowing airlines to operate non-stop flights to the United States and Europe. Runway 01/19 was also lengthened to 2,250 metres, whilst Runway 10/28 was closed, as the new terminal cuts across it.

Passenger numbers topped 2.1 million a year in 2017, the first time that the 2 million passenger number was exceeded, though this figure dropped slightly to 2.07 million in 2018.

Operators at Carrasco include Austral, Air Europa, Amaszonas, Amaszonas Uruguay, American Airlines, Avianca, Azul, Copa, Gol, Iberia, Latam and Paranair. Sky Airline also operates a seasonal route to Santiago, Chile. On the cargo front, there are services by Avianca Cargo, Latam Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo and Western Global Airlines.

No. 3 Squadron of the Uruguayan Air Force operates transport aircraft from Carrasco in the form of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Embraer C-95 Bandeirante and EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft, as well as the CASA C-212 Aviocar. No. 5 Squadron operates Bell 212 and UH-1H Iroquois helicopters in the utility rôle, plus an AS-365 Dauphin as a VIP transport.

Written by Clive Grant Last update October 2019.

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
	Runway: 01/19 2,250m (7,382ft) 06/24 3,322m (10,899ft)
Terminals	The airport has a single passenger terminal serving all traffic; there is also a separate cargo terminal.
Spotting Information
Ladder	A 3-step ladder is useful for Spot #2, but not essential; otherwise not required
Car/Public Transport	As successive arriving aircraft can use different runways and you won’t want to miss anything, a car is desirable. However all spots, except Spot #4, are within thirty minutes walk of the terminal.
Restrooms	Only in the airport terminal.
Drinks/Food	Only in the airport terminal.
Hotels	The Hampton by Hilton is a short drive away from the airport terminal and prices are reasonable. Several more hotels can be found on the way into Montevideo or in the city itself.
Season	Whilst the best time to visit Montevideo is considered to be spring and early summer, the climate is temperate all year round, though winter days are considerably shorter. Sunny winter days might also be rather cold, but that means less chance of heat haze in your photos.
Runway Usage
06/24	06/24 is the main runway and this is the one wide body traffic will use. As the airport is rather quiet, in light wind conditions other arrivals and departures may use Runway 01/19 if it’s more convenient to do so.

	Spot #1 – George Washington – Arriving traffic on Runway 24
WHERE	By car, at the roundabout outside the airport, take the third exit onto the dual carriageway northbound, Route 101, (Cap. Juan Antonio Artigas). Immediately after the flyover section, take the next right onto José Martí and then immediately right again onto George Washington. You can park on the side of the road here.
WHAT	Traffic landing on Runway 24.
TIME	In the southern summer only from sunrise until about 10am.
MISC.	There is not much warning of arriving traffic so it helps to have an idea of when something is due. Even on Flightradar24, traffic seems to disappear from screens as it gets closer to the airport. There is no shade here and there are no facilities so bring what you need.
FOCAL LENGTH	60mm for an A320, 400mm for a Cessna 172.

	Spot #2 – Perimeter Fence – Departures on Runway 24
WHERE	Leave your car at Spot #1 and take care crossing over the dual carriageway. Walk northwards to Spot #2 at the perimeter fence. If you’re over 6ft tall, you may be able to take photos over the fence, but a 2 or 3-step ladder would be handy here. If you do use a ladder, only put it up to take your photo and then put it down again until the next time. The other alternative is to take photos with care through the mesh of the fence and then crop them later, which is what was done with the photos here.
WHAT	Traffic about to line up on Runway 24; you’re generally too close at this spot for landing shots.
TIME	From sunrise to around noon all year.
MISC.	There is no shade here and there are no facilities so bring what you need. Heat haze can be a problem here, especially for light aircraft.
FOCAL LENGTH	130mm for a CRJ200, 300mm for a Cessna 172.

	Spot #3 – Del Parque – Arriving traffic on Runway 24
WHERE	From Spot #1, rejoin Route 101 northbound via José Martí and take the left fork on the dual carriageway. Continue around the roundabout and take the exit for Route 101 southbound. Immediately after the roundabout, pull off to the right and park by Del Parque.
WHAT	Traffic landing on Runway 24.
TIME	From about 1pm till sunset all year.
MISC.	There is not much shade here and there are no facilities so bring what you need.
FOCAL LENGTH	90mm for a 777-200.

	Spot #4 – Las Torcasitas – Arriving traffic on Runway 19
WHERE	From Spot #3 you’ll need to head south to the airport roundabout so that you can turn back northbound on Route 101. Take the left fork on the dual carriageway and take the exit for Route 102. After about 2km take a left turn onto Las Torcasitas; make sure you indicate early for the left turn as you’ll need to stop in the fast lane to make the turn. Drive for about 600m along Las Torcasitas and park on the side of the road; this is Spot #4.
WHAT	Traffic landing on Runway 19.
TIME	From about 2pm till sunset all year.
MISC.	There is no shade here and there are no facilities so bring what you need.
FOCAL LENGTH	100mm for an A320, 500mm for a Cessna 172.

	Spot #5 – Terrace Viewpoint – Aircraft taxiing on the apron
WHERE	Landside in the passenger terminal, take the escalator to the top floor. Turn left and walk towards the end of the viewing area and you’ll see the glass fronted terrace on your right. The opening hours are 10am to 6pm, but unfortunately this doesn’t coincide with when the sun’s in the right position. For photography before 10am in the summer, it’s still possible to take photos from either end of the large viewing area, although the acute angle of the windows makes this rather difficult.
WHAT	Traffic taxiing on the apron.
TIME	From sunrise till 10am in the southern summer only.
MISC.	All the facilities you need are available in the terminal.
FOCAL LENGTH	65mm for an A330-200, 100mm for an E190.

	Spot #6 – Terminal Access Road – Traffic parked at the cargo terminal and traffic moving on the military apron
WHERE	Leave the terminal at the lowest level and walk to the right.
WHAT	Traffic in the cargo area and traffic taxiing to or from the military aprons. Currently, it’s also a good spot for a photo of the PLUNA Viscount when the museum is closed.
TIME	From sunrise until about noon all year.
MISC.	All the facilities you need are available in the terminal.
FOCAL LENGTH	70mm for the PLUNA Viscount outside the museum, 300mm for the 727-200 in the cargo area.

	Spot #7 – Aeronautical Museum – Aircraft inside and parked outside the museum.
WHERE	From Spot #6 continue walking away from the terminal to the roundabout. Turn right at the roundabout and the next right turn is the access road for the museum.
WHAT	Aircraft inside and parked immediately outside the museum. Unfortunately, the military exhibits further to the west are within the site of the air base and therefore not accessible. However, it is possible to take a photo of the Uruguayan Air Force Dakota through the mesh of the fence if you’re able and willing to stop briefly at the side of the dual carriageway westbound.
TIME	The museum is only open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
MISC.	There are limited facilities in the museum but all the facilities you need are available in the terminal.
FOCAL LENGTH	30mm for aircraft parked outside and a wide angle lens for exhibits inside the museum.