Plane passenger’s video landing in one of world’s largest cities goes viral

A plane passenger’s view before landing in one of the world’s largest cities has wowed internet users as he shows the vast expanse of buildings that seem to stretch on forever.

Luca Cristodero, 28, from Germany, was traveling to Brazil, landing in Sao Paulo Congonhas Airport when the video was taken. The clip shows the tall buildings of the city up close and in the distance, eventually reaching the horizon where they meet the clouds.

“The airport is located amidst a concrete jungle-like skyscraper scenery,” Cristodero told Newsweek. “[It was] quite a mesmerizing view, stunning and maybe even slightly ugly—that’s why I took a video.”

Many were blown away by the video and the clip quickly went viral, receiving over 650,000 views in just three days, with more than 71,000 likes from other TikTok users.

Sao Paulo is the fifth largest city in the world in terms of population, according to World Population Review. In 2023, it was home to a staggering 22,806,700 people.

It is also one of the top 10 largest metropolitan areas in the world and has 7,216.3 people per square kilometer (18,690 per square mile). In total, the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo is 152,000 square kilometers (58,000 square miles)..

“I find Sao Paulo itself very buzzing and exciting—especially the nightlife,” Cristodero told Newsweek.

The city has a thriving tourism industry and receives huge numbers of visitors every year. In 2021, over 422,000 international tourists arrived into Sao Paulo.

Cristodero’s video received over 1,000 comments from people sharing their thoughts and reactions to the video and the city of Sao Paulo itself.

“I’ve never had more fun in my life than I did during a week in Sao Paulo,” said @bgram19.

Albert The Foodie commented: “Sao Paulo is a whole vibe! From the food to the nightlife, this city never disappoints.”

“I want to visit it so bad,” said Alex. Meanwhile, @ user03269941295 said: “Looks so dull from above, but it’s actually so dope and full of energy on the streets.”

However, not everyone was blown away. One person, Sebes, called it “urban hell”.

“As someone who grew up in the countryside this scares me a lot ngl [not going to lie],” @aspiradorademerca said.

Dylan Mortan shared: “Interesting, I’ve been to SP, but never really thought it looked like that.”

“The traffic has to be terrible right?” said @Moonbeam90, while Boo commented: “It just keeps going.”

“I was in shock when it was minutes before landing and it all looked like this,” said @user2802832188339.

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