Nagib Demachki Airport

Paragominas Municipal Airport - Nagib Demachki (IATA: OPE, ICAO: SNOE) sits 6 kilometres northeast of downtown Paragominas, a city of roughly 110,000 people in eastern Pará, Brazil. The airport is a single-runway facility handling regional turboprop traffic, primarily from Azul Conecta and occasional charter flights. It functions as the main air access point for a region whose economy depends on agriculture, logging, and paper production. The terminal is modest—one storey, no jet bridges—and passengers walk across the tarmac to and from aircraft.

Getting There

The airport is located along the PA-125 highway, a direct route from central Paragominas. The drive from the city centre (Praça do Mutirão) takes about 10 to 15 minutes by car or taxi. Taxis are available at a stand near the main market on Avenida Amazonas; fares are fixed at around 30 reais to the airport. Rideshare apps like Uber operate in Paragominas but availability can be limited outside peak hours. For those driving, the airport has a small paved parking lot that is free and usually uncongested. There is no public bus service directly to the terminal; the nearest bus stop is roughly 2 kilometres away on PA-125, served by municipal lines connecting the city centre to the bairro of Nova Conquista. Most passengers arrange private transport or ask hotel staff to call a taxi in advance, especially for early morning departures.

Inside the Terminal

The terminal building consists of a single check-in hall, a security checkpoint with one X-ray machine, and a waiting area with plastic seats for roughly 60 people. The confirmed facilities include a wheelchair-accessible entrance, wheelchair-accessible car park, and wheelchair-accessible toilet. The toilet is located near the check-in area and is kept clean by regular cleaning staff. There is no air conditioning in the main hall—ceiling fans provide airflow, and temperatures inside can be warm, especially in the afternoon. The airport opens only on days with scheduled flights; based on busiest times (Monday and Wednesday at 4 pm, Tuesday and Thursday at 5 pm), the terminal likely opens two hours before the first departure and closes after the last arrival. Passengers should not expect shops, cafés, or vending machines. Bring water and snacks if needed. Check-in counters open one hour before departure; luggage is hand-loaded onto the aircraft. Arrivals retrieve bags from a single carousel near the exit. The atmosphere is calm and efficient, but staffing is minimal—be prepared to self-navigate.

Paragominas Municipal Airport - Nagib Demachki and Paragominas

Paragominas calls itself the "Capital do Papel" because of its large paper and cellulose industry, anchored by the company Norsk Hydro's former bauxite operations and now by the Pará Paper Mill (Indústrias Klabin). The city was founded in 1965 during the construction of the Belém-Brasília Highway (BR-010) and grew rapidly as a hub for timber extraction and cattle ranching. Today, Paragominas is a centre for soybean, corn, and beef production, as well as a growing ecotourism destination. The surrounding region includes the Caxiuanã National Forest (a protected Amazon reserve with research stations and canopy walkways) and the more accessible Lagoa do Cajueiro, a freshwater lake popular for swimming and stand-up paddleboarding. Visitors also come for the annual Festa do Leite (Milk Festival) in July, which highlights dairy production. The airport is the only practical way to reach Paragominas quickly from Belém (a 50-minute flight versus a 3-hour drive), and it connects business travellers to the region's agricultural calendar. For the traveller, Paragominas offers a mix of modern commerce and frontier Amazon culture: you can eat at a sushi restaurant one night and visit a floating market on the Rio Capim the next. The airport, small as it is, plays an outsized role in making this possible.

Practical Information

The airport is not open daily; it operates only on days with scheduled flights, typically Monday through Thursday, with busiest times at 4 pm (Monday, Wednesday) and 5 pm (Tuesday, Thursday). Check with your airline for specific operating days. The airport has no website or published phone number—contact your airline or the Paragominas city hall for flight information. There is no on-site car rental; if you need a vehicle, reserve in advance from agencies in the city centre (Localiza or Unidas have desks at the main bus station). One concrete tip: because the terminal has no food vendors and limited seating, pack a sandwich and a bottle of water for any layover, and bring a printed boarding pass in case the electronic check-in system is down. The airport is functional but bare-bones; knowing this ahead of time makes the experience smooth.