Terminal
Uruguay’s only airport with year-round international connections sits under a single monolithic roof — 365 meters (1,200 feet) of gently curved white concrete, 42,720 gross square meters, opened in December 2009 to a design by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly. Arrivals occupy the ground floor and departures the floor above, each with its own independent vehicle road, and the design deliberately keeps public zones — the roadside terrace, restaurants, retail — generous, built around the regional custom of families seeing travelers off.
International and Puente Aéreo flights check in on the departures level. Domestic flights to Salto and Rivera are different: Paranair’s counters sit on the second floor in the departures sector, check-in opens two hours before departure, and passengers with only carry-on who already checked in online can skip the counter entirely.
Express Pass, the airport’s free virtual queue, lets you reserve a security-line slot from five hours down to 90 minutes before your flight — book up to three days ahead through the online form, and a 10-minute grace window covers either side of the reserved time. Liquids follow the classic rule: containers over 100 ml are barred from carry-on unless bagged in a sealed transparent pouch no larger than 20 by 20 cm.
There is no second terminal to transfer between — but domestic and international flows do split physically. After checking in with Paranair on the second floor, Salto and Rivera passengers head down to Gate 9 on the ground floor, at the end of the corridor to the right of the McDonald’s, the only boarding gate outside the main departures level.
Carrasco became the first airport in the region to reach Level 1 of ACI’s Airport Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation in 2023, and joined the Sunflower programme for hidden disabilities in December 2024 — a free sunflower lanyard is available around the clock at the arrivals information desk. Wheelchairs wait in the arrivals hall next to the Official Taxis office, accessible restrooms carry an emergency alarm button, and SDI-plated vehicles get preferential parking bays plus extended courtesy time at both the arrivals and departures curbs.