Airlines report challenges to expand regional aviation in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Currently, of the over 5,500 Brazilian municipalities, only about 100 have regularly scheduled regional flights. The expansion is hindered by issues such as lack of airport infrastructure, high fuel prices and the suspension of the Regional Aviation Development Program (Pdar), established by Law 13.097/15.

Deputy Eduardo Bismarck (PDT-CE), who proposed the debate, advocated the importance of regional aviation, connecting capitals and cities in the interior, places that often cannot be reached by land, particularly in the North and Midwest regions.

“On behalf of the Tourism Commission and other legislators, we intend to present a plan that can truly contribute to regional aviation and aviation in Brazil, given the current context of very expensive airline tickets, difficulties in the sector, and the post-pandemic recovery,” Bismarck said.

According to Brazilian General Aviation Association (ABAG) general director Flávio Pires, passengers and airports and the connectivity with the national area network are crucial for the development of the sector.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The impact of aviation in the regions served by flights was also highlighted by the companies’ representatives, such as Azul Linhas Aéreas Institutional Relations Manager César Grandolfo.

“The growth of cities with the same size with flights is reasonably higher than those that don’t have them. The average annual growth of cities served with aviation was 2.08%, while cities without it grew by an average of 1.61% [from 2010 to 2018],” Grandolfo compared. “If cities with aviation grew at the same rates as those without flights, about R$3.1 billion (US$558 million) would fail to be contributed to GDP annually,” Grandolfo said.

In addition to fuel prices, Grandolfo stressed the challenge in attracting fuel distributors to more remote locations. “For a distributor to serve us, it needs to make large investments. Except that airplanes are small, they have low consumption. It’s a very high investment that doesn’t attract interested parties,” he stated.

In turn, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes advisor Alberto Fajerman requested states to indicate what they need and how they can contribute for flights to be in place.

Representatives from LATAM Airlines Brazil, Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos, and Rio Madeira Aerotaxi also attended the hearing.

Source: Agência Câmara de Notícias