The Petrolina— Senator Nilo Coelho Airport stands as one of major ones in the Northeast boosted by the Sao Francisco Valley  production, Brazil’s largest fruit exporter and responsible for largest economic growth rate of the region.
Investments made by Infraero in Petrolina changed the airport into the second largest in Pernambuco, and its runway as the second largest in the Northeast. The runway, now with 3,250 meters in length, receives large cargo planes with capacity of up 110 ton.
There are three airline operating regular flights at the airport: GOL Airlines, OceanAir Airlines, and TRIP Airlines.
The works carried out in 2004 allowed for better quality of runway asphaltic reinforcement and the airplanes ground area, which was expanded to 16,406 m², with five parking positions for large size aircrafts.
The Petrolina Airport cargo terminal, with 2 thousand m², is prepared to meet the fruit exports demand of the region. The structure is prepared to provide support to perishable produce with six refrigerating chambers, storage capacity of 17 thousand boxes each, and two refrigeration tunnels.
The Petrolina — Senator Nilo Coelho Airport new passenger terminal is completely air-conditioned, with modern safety devices, such closed circuit TV, and flight information system, in addition to 19 commercial points within Air shopping conception. The airport has fast food stands, restaurants, crafts and regional produce shops, car rental and ATMs.
The Petrolina Airport services over 53 Municipalities in the states of Pernambuco, Bahia, and Piaui. In 2008, the airport received over 157 thousand passengers.