Brazil’s Ministry of Justice considers suing Itapemirim airlines

RIO DE JANEURO, BRAZIL – On Wednesday, December 22, the Ministry of Justice received an improvement plan sent by ITA (Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos), a company whose operation was suspended on Friday, December 17, and should analyze the information to decide whether or not to file an administrative proceeding against the company.

The airline had 24 hours to send SENACON (National Consumer Secretariat), an agency linked to the Ministry, an effective proposal for assisting customers who have suffered losses. The Secretariat’s technical area is now analyzing the requirements to open a proceeding, which may lead to a fine.

The company has held three meetings with SENACON since October and sent a different representative to each, according to Department of Consumer Protection and Defense director Lilian Brandão.

“The company failed to notify SENACON in advance about the situation. We had three meetings and there was no indication that this was going to happen,” she says.

The meetings were requested by the portfolio, which had detected an increase in customer complaints about flight delays and cancellations. The company began operations in June, selling cheaper tickets than its competition.

“We gave them a vote of confidence, but we were worried,” Brandão says.

São Paulo’s PROCON says 133,000 passengers -considering round trips in the period from December 17 through February 17- were affected by the issue. In previous statements, ITA handled a figure of 46,000 passengers.

The company says that it helped 25,000 people with rebooking or refunds in the first two working days.

PROCON also said it will fine ITA for the abrupt suspension of services and disrespect to customers. The amount may reach R$11 (US$1.9) million.

The institution also argued that, “given the severity of the situation, the company must provide an immediate solution to passengers – either by relocation on another flight or by refunding the amounts.”

SENACON and PROCON may concurrently impose fines.

To circumvent the crisis, the company has been offering bus tickets and says it prioritizes accommodations on other companies for transit passengers who need to return home. Nevertheless, customers slept at the airport because they had no way to return on Tuesday.

The Itapemirim group went into receivership in 2016. It debuted in the airline industry during one of the harshest aviation crises, when trips were canceled due to the pandemic.

When launching the operation, it said it would have resources from investment funds based on the fulfillment of goals. It does not say which funds. The estimated value was US$500 million. The company has pledged to resume operations in February.

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