By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s Agencia Nacional da Aviação Civil – ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) announced it is increasing airport taxes for both domestic and international flights by an average of 14.21 percent at government-administered airports. The tax increase will be implemented at the beginning of February.
According to national daily O Globo, the tax increase is seen as abusive by Brazil’s Consumer Defense Institute (IDEC). “The increase is well above inflation. It is unjustifiable and constitutes an abusive action,” stated IDEC lawyer Claudia Almeida.
“There has been no significant improvements at [Infraero] airports nor to the services rendered to the passengers,” she concluded.
The increase in airport taxes will affect airports such as Rio’s Santos Dumont and São Paulo’s Congonhas airports. Taxes at airports already under private management, such as Galeão (Rio de Janeiro) and Confins (Belo Horizonte) were increased in August of 2014.
According to O Globo the increased taxes should render R$200 million more to government-run airport administration company, Infraero. Last year the company registered a deficit of R$500 million in its balance.
Infraero is responsible for running fifty percent of all commercial airports in Brazil, and between January and November of 2014 oversaw the transportation of more than 101.7 million passengers at sixty airports throughout the country. In addition to administering Santos Dumont and Congonhas, Infraero also administers the major airports in Salvador, Recife, Fortaleza, Manaus, Curitiba and Porto Alegre.