Regional aviation in a continental country like Brazil is essential and, even though it needs many adjustments and investments, it can contribute decisively to changing the social and economic profile of localities in the interior.
The assessment was made by participants in a remote public hearing that discussed the importance of regional aviation in development. The public hearing was promoted by the Commission for Regional Development and Tourism (CDR), as part of a cycle of debates.
President of the CDR, senator Fernando Collor (Pros-AL), noted that the federal government's concession program has already had six rounds and by the end of the year the seventh round will be held, after which, he said, it is expected that all airports in the federal network to the private sector.
“The investments already made are in the billions of reais. It is necessary to leverage regional aviation, make it attractive to favor the development and establishment of routes to the interior of the states, contributing to the economic and social balance of the country”, defended the senator.
National Secretary for Development and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Tourism, William França Cordeiro pointed out a change of level in the movement of tourists in Brazil from 2004, with the beginning of concessions and changes in legislation. In 2018, there were 215 million engers, a number that could reach 537 million in twenty years.
Among the actions to stimulate aviation, mentioned the visa exemption for strategic countries, such as the United States and Japan, the flexibility of the baggage allowance, the extinction of the restriction on foreign capital, the reduction of the ICMS rate, the skies agreement open with other countries, the policy of making air services more flexible bilaterally and the entry of new airlines in Brazil.
“Of the 210 million inhabitants, we have around one hundred million who still travel. We have few people using the aerial network. Brazil, with its potential and natural attractions, has only 0,43% of the international flow of tourists, and only 3% come from abroad, the rest are domestic tourists”, he said.
França explained that the regional aviation network, which features shorter distance flights, fewer engers and airports with reduced demand, is present today in 112 municipalities, but intends to reach 200 cities in the coming years, according to the scenario outlined before the pandemic.
National Secretary of Civil Aviation of the Ministry of Infrastructure (MI), Ronei Saggioro Glanzmann said that Brazil is a continental country and the issue of regional aviation needs to be discussed.
The country, he said, had been doing its homework, but was hit by the emergence of the pandemic, which affected the growth of aviation. According to him, the government expects to invest R$ 8,6 billion in airports in four years, with 65% of private capital, R$ 2,5 billion in regional aviation.
“Brazil still flies very little. Prices are high, as a result of fuel prices, taxation, poor infrastructure. There are 200 cities served by regular air transport in Brazil. In the last two decades there were 140. We need sustainable infrastructure and business models, such as the sub-regional, with nine-seat planes that connect with larger aircraft and make the so-called sub-regional aviation. Brazil is very diversified, it is impossible to serve the whole country with a single type of plane”, he said.
President of the Brazilian Airlines Association (Abear), Eduardo Sanovicz said that a regulatory environment aligned with an international model is fundamental for the growth of regional aviation. He believes that the acceleration of vaccination against covid-19 will improve aviation numbers and serve more people at competitive prices.
“There is a need to coordinate programs between the public and private sectors, reduce costs and increase income and economic activity, which will be the result of articulated government policies. Subsidy policies end up creating problems and the economic scenario showed that this was not the way to go. It is important that there be a program to take advantage of all the technical and intellectual assets of Infraero which, over the last few years, has solved enormous problems in Brazilian airports. It is also necessary to review costs, mainly kerosene, taxes and inputs. ICMS and PIS Cofins only exist in Brazil. This is an issue that the Senate can tackle and resolve this problem.”, he said.
Director-president of the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), Juliano Alcântara Noman defended the universalization of aviation in a continental country like Brazil.
“Aviation in Brazil is popular, but it is not universal. There are 115 million Brazilians almost accessing air transport, which justifies the cost reduction, increased investments and infrastructure. Before the pandemic, there were operations in 97 regional locations, reduced to 15 locations with the arrival of the pandemic.”
President of the Brazilian Company of Airport Infrastructure (Infrator), Hélio Paes de Barros said that it is necessary to be concerned not only with airlines, but with the implementation of port infrastructure, based on concessions. He defended the use of grant money in the small airports that make up the regional aviation network.
“With regard to regional aviation, we would like to point out that, unfortunately, we still have, within city halls and state governments, a bias towards treating the importance of the hospital, of the school. And there is still a lack of culture for managing small airfields. I also envision that, in the medium term future, Infraero may still become a hatchery for small airports. After the pandemic, we will have a much stronger tourism bias than business travel. We have to oxygenate the small towns, and the tourist has to reach these small centers. We need to have regulation to allow the exploration of infrastructure”, he said.
President of Inframerica — present in seven countries and in charge of 52 airports, including Brasília — Jorge Arruda said that the most important thing the government can do to promote are reforms to “enable the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) ”, which for him will bring the automatic growth of aviation, tourism and inter-regional traffic, mainly in a country of continental dimensions like Brazil.
“The development of regional aviation in Brazil is essential for the growth of the country and the sector. There are several tools and, taking into the size of the country, all possible tools should be used. A country the size of Brazil clearly has a lot of room for regional growth.”, he concluded.
Source: The Senate Agency
