Paes says that the federal government will limit flights on Santos Dumont

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), said this Wednesday (14) that the federal government will restrict flights operated at Santos Dumont airport, in the center of the city. The announcement was made after a meeting between Paes and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), at the Planalto Palace.

By the president’s decision, according to the mayor, Santos Dumont will only operate flights to two destinations: Congonhas airports, in São Paulo, and Brasilia. There is still no deadline for the changes to take effect and the mayor estimated that this should occur from January 2024, informed Agência Brasil.

“Today, the president decided that he is going to do it. The Santos Dumont airport will only be used for the Rio – São Paulo / Congonhas and Rio-Brasília air bridge, and the international airport of Rio de Janeiro will once again receive the domestic flights that had, which allows Galeão to be an international hub. This is a very important change”, said Paes to journalists after the meeting with Lula.

According to the mayor, who submitted a proposal for an ordinance, the change had been requested for over two and a half years, without success. In addition to limiting flights, Paes said that the government should issue a rule preventing passengers on international flights from other cities (such as São Paulo and Brasília) from checking in from Santos Dumont.

The status of the two airports has been discussed for some months now. The government of Rio de Janeiro and the city hall of the capital criticize the fact that Santos Dumont – administered by the Union through Infraero – greatly increased the number of flights. This caused an emptying of the Tom Jobim/Galeão International Airport, managed by the concessionaire Changi, from Singapore.

Last Monday (12), the governor of the state of Rio, Cláudio Castro, also met with Lula in Brasília and discussed the shared management of Santos Dumont (domestic) and Galeão (international) airports. The administration of the two air terminals would be carried out in partnership between the Union, the state and the city of Rio. Paes stated that the issue of the concession is ongoing and will be taken later, regardless of the limitation of flights.