Brazil: General aviation is against abandonment of São Paulo/Congonhas city airport

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian General Aviation Association (ABAG) has applied to the Federal Court of Accounts for an injunction, pointing to irregularities in the seventh round of airport concessions promoted by the National Agency for Civil Aviation (ANAC), which foresees the permanent extinction of general aviation from Congonhas Airport, the second largest airport in São Paulo, starting in 2023.

Congonhas is located in the middle of the city of São Paulo and is ideal for travelers who have business in the megacity.

According to ABAG, this will cause significant damage, as the concession agreement provides for the termination of existing leases without compensation, while at the same time not offering solutions that will allow the continuation of general aviation operations in the greater São Paulo area.

“General aviation is responsible for air connections between major centers and smaller cities: of the more than 3,000 airfields in the country, only slightly more than 100 airports are served by commercial aviation. In the remaining 2,900 localities, the population relies exclusively on general aviation, which accounts for 95% of Brazil’s fleet, in a segment that includes all types of flight operations with airplanes and helicopters, with the exception of airlines and military operations,” ABAG said in a report published by our Brazilian media partner Aeroin.

“General aviation performs tasks of public interest that commercial aviation cannot perform or does not perform in practice, such as the medical transport of sick passengers, especially those coming from areas where there is no possibility of adequate hospital care and who must be taken to large urban centers for treatment, as well as the transport of organs for transplants, supplies, medicines, medical equipment and vaccines to places that cannot be served by commercial aviation, taking into account the continental dimensions of our country,” it adds.

The association insists that there are no viable alternatives at other airports in São Paulo, as they lack adequate infrastructure and are located far from the city’s main attractions. Campo de Marte is also faulted for not having adequate hangar space and navigation aids.

“Congonhas Airport, thanks to its location in the country’s largest metropolis, fulfills the function of a general aviation hub in Brazil: aircraft from all regions of Brazil and from abroad converge at Congonhas,” ABAG added, concluding that the court must review the seventh round of airport concessions to address the need to ensure regional aviation access to Congonhas Airport.