Surprised there is not more said about Terminal 3 at GRU
It was almost two weeks ago when I last left Brazil. I checked in at the customary Terminal 2 for AA flight 216 - GRU non stop to LAX.
During check in at Terminal 2, passengers were not told that the aircraft left from Terminal 3. There also was no mention of the great walking distance between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.
Terminal 3 is about two and one-half miles by taxi from Terminal 2. However, there is no check in facility for AA at Terminal 3.
There is no shuttle bus from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3.
There is another way to access Terminal 3 after checking in at Terminal 2. Access from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 is via a very long "sky bridge" or "ponte" in Portuguese.
The bridge is close to two miles in length. To access the bridge, it is required to go through security again, which made little sense because we did not exit any secure area.
Walking as fast as we could (while pulling a carry on), it took us about thirty-five minutes to get from Terminal 2 to the gate in Terminal 3.
In short, if you have a flight coming up on AA out of GRU, be sure to leave plenty of time in case you are sent to Terminal 3 for boarding.
Some AA planes still depart from Terminal 2. Until a gate is assigned, passengers do not know if the plane will leave from Terminal 2 or whether the passenger will have to sprint to Terminal 3.
Other international air carriers also are affected by the temporary use of two terminals at GRU.
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