Santos Dumont should maintain flights to the DF after political pressure – 09/02/2023 – Market

Flights connecting Santos Dumont (RJ) and Brasília (DF) airports should not be affected by the restrictions that will come into effect in January with the aim of increasing operations at the less attractive international airport of Galeão, also located in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.

This will happen not for a technical reason, but for political pressure led, among others, by Governor Cláudio Castro (PL), Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD) and part of the state parliamentary group.

On August 10, the Minister of Ports and Airports, Márcio França, signed alongside Paes and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) a resolution that restricts flights on Santos Dumont from January 2, 2024, vetoing the routes that connect it to international airports, such as Guarulhos and Confins, and all others that exceed the maximum distance of 400 km.

According to these rules, the Santos Dumont-Brasília route would be extinct from January onwards, as it fits the two criteria: Brasília airport is international and the distance is around 900 km, more than double the limit of 400 km .

The political negotiations around the attempt to revive movement on Galeão, however, already included a tacit agreement from the beginning for the SDU-BSB route (the airport codes of Santos Dumont and President Juscelino Kubitschek, in Brasília) to be maintained, as the only exception.

None of the congressmen from Rio consulted by the Sheet, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, knew the technical reason for this. Some even said that they thought that Brasília was already official as an exception to the restriction, which has not yet occurred.

The Ministry of Ports and Airports stated, in a note, that “in view of the relevance of Brasília as the country’s federal capital”, the portfolio, the Civil House and the AGU (Attorney General of the Union) “are studying the most appropriate legal format for the SDU-BSB stretch to continue operating”.

The ministry recorded that Castro and Paes had initially requested to keep only flights to and from Congonhas and Brasília airports at Santos Dumont, but that in the case of the federal capital it will be necessary to send a bill to Congress, which still it didn’t happen.

The highly disputed Rio-São Paulo (Santos Dumont-Congonhas) air link, one of the busiest routes in the world, is outside the restrictions because Congonhas is a domestic airport and is less than 400 km away from Santos Dumont.

“It’s our ‘fluff’. The reason is merely parliamentary, or, more broadly, political-administrative. Brasilia is the capital of the Republic, congressmen from Rio and nearby areas, lobbyists and others need to go there. It’s a flight, from what I understand, always full and in great demand. It makes it easier, it’s more comfortable. So, technical considerations to the side”, criticizes deputy Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ), one of the few to speak openly about the case.

Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) says that the problem is much more serious than the Rio-Brasília route.

In his assessment, the restriction of flights will not mean migration to the international airport, but more transfers and costs for passengers, and he defends a proposal elaborated in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) administration, of joint concession of Galeão and Santos Dumont to the same operator .

“It’s not a question of not having a flight to Brasilia, because of the parliamentarian, the mess is much bigger. This is just a ‘peanuts’ [insignificante].”

“I’ve been working on this issue since day zero of my mandate”, says the senator, highlighting the conclusions of the working group made up of the government of Rio, city hall and other entities.

“The first technical alternative was to reduce landings and takeoffs, and with that the market itself would adjust, that was the technical solution. Eduardo Paes, in a political agreement with Lula, challenges Márcio França and seeks to adopt the last alternative, the most drastic intervention in the market, without listening to the market, which is the limitation of routes.”

Paes limited himself to saying that he awaits the government’s decision to establish Brasília as an exception, and that this has always been his request.

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall forwarded a note from the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification reminding that this was an initial request from the City Hall to the government and that it does not see a problem with the exception, as long as “the perimeter limit of 400 km” is respected to other domestic airports.

The Government of Rio stated, through its advisory, that it considers it “important to maintain the destination of Brasília, as always defended together with the municipality of Rio”, and said it believed that “the appropriate measures will be adopted by the Union”.

Focused on domestic aviation and managed by the state-owned company Infraero, Santos Dumont is located next to businesses located in the center of Rio and closer to tourist attractions in the south zone, such as Sugarloaf Mountain and the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema.

In addition to being closer to the center and the south zone, it has more attractive public transport options.

Galeão —currently managed by RIOgaleão, controlled by Changi, from Singapore— is located on Ilha do Governador, in the northern part of the capital of Rio de Janeiro, and has more restricted access options, greater possibility of traffic jams, in addition to proximity to areas considered to be at greater risk of urban violence, such as the Red, Yellow and Avenida Brasil lines.

Its infrastructure is larger than that of Santos Dumont, it receives national and international flights and also plays an important role in the transport of cargo in the state.

The airport was awarded to the private sector in 2013. It is undergoing an emptying process that became more visible after the pandemic. In February 2022, RIOgaleão announced an order to return the airport.

After the change of government, the debate gained new contours, and the concessionaire changed its mind. RIOgaleão, then, began to indicate interest in sewing an agreement to remain with the asset.

After the crisis generated by the pandemic, the resumption of movement occurred more quickly at Santos Dumont than at Galeão.

In 2022, the domestic airport of Rio de Janeiro received more than 10 million passengers, between departures and arrivals, according to data from Infraero. The contingent was close to 9 million pre-pandemic.

Galeão, in turn, totaled less than 6 million paid passengers in 2022, according to Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency). Over the past decade, the terminal has received more than 16 million travelers a year.