São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) opened on January 20, 1985, after years of planning that began in the late 1960s and a construction phase that broke ground on August 11, 1980. Built to relieve the overcrowded São Paulo–Congonhas Airport, it quickly became Brazil's primary air gateway. The airport sits in the municipality of Guarulhos, roughly 25 kilometers northeast of central São Paulo, and has been formally named after Governor André Franco Montoro since November 28, 2001.

Today it is Brazil's busiest airport by passengers, aircraft operations, and cargo, and ranks first in Latin America by passenger traffic. In 2025, the airport handled more than 47 million passengers across 3 terminals and 2 asphalt runways, one stretching 3,700 meters and the other 3,000 meters. Terminal 3, completed in May 2014 and initially opened for international flights, handles the bulk of international traffic. LATAM Brasil and GOL Linhas Aéreas use GRU as a primary hub; Azul Brazilian Airlines operates it as a focus city. Carriers from every major global alliance serve the airport, connecting São Paulo to more than 100 destinations worldwide.

The airport coexists with the São Paulo Air Force Base, giving it a dual public-military designation, and is locally known as Cumbica, after the district where it sits. In 2018, GRU became the first major South American airport to gain a direct rail connection, via CPTM Line 13-Jade, linking it to the broader São Paulo metropolitan transit network. Privatized in February 2012 and rebranded as GRU Airport later that year, the complex has undergone continuous expansion and remains the center of Brazilian aviation.