Deputado Luiz Eduardo Magalhães International Airport — Salvador, Brazil

Deputado Luiz Eduardo Magalhaes International Airport, coded SSA, serves Salvador, the first capital of colonial Brazil and a city whose Pelourinho district preserves one of the largest collections of colonial architecture anywhere in the Americas. Founded in 1549, Salvador anchors Bahia state and stands as a center of Afro-Brazilian culture, from capoeira and candomble religious traditions to a culinary scene built around palm oil and dried shrimp that traces directly back to West African roots carried across the Atlantic during the slave trade. The airport takes its name from a young Bahian congressman seen as a rising national political figure before his sudden death in 1998. SSA handles heavy seasonal traffic tied to Salvador's massive Carnival celebrations, among the largest street festivals in the world, alongside year-round tourism to the city's beaches and steady business travel connected to Bahia's petrochemical and agricultural industries.