Congonhas may increase the number of flights in March 2023, confirms Anac

Congonhas airport (SP), located in the central region of São Paulo, will be able to handle 44 takeoffs and landings per hour from March 26 of next year, an increase over the current limit of 41 movements.

The declaration of the new capacity, formalized by the state-owned Infraero, which operates the terminal, was published by the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac).

In August, Congonhas was acquired by the Spanish company Aena in the auction of the 7th round of airport concessions, but the management of the asset has not yet been transferred to the private sector.

Infraero had already indicated in the middle of the year that it would have the capacity to increase the number of flights at Congonhas airport. The state-owned company’s signal generated a reaction in part of the sector and in residents’ associations that fear the increase in movement at the terminal. As the Broadcast (Grupo Estado’s real-time news system) showed at the time, the expansion at the airport has been debated for a long time in the segment and, behind the scenes, it is marked by an animosity between the companies.

The addition of takeoffs and landings makes room for other companies, such as Azul, to increase their operations at the terminal, where Gol and Latam are dominant.

The Brazilian Association of Airlines (Abear), which represents companies such as Gol and Latam, said at the time that the expansion of flights should only occur after “significant investments” in the airport’s passenger terminal.

For Infraero, however, the investments already made are enough to support the new capacity. In addition to improvements to the passenger terminal, other projects are highlighted by those who defend the expansion, such as the renovation of the main runway, completed at the end of 2020, and the new system and structure for international executive aviation flights, which cost R$ 222 million from the federal government.

With the declaration of capacity published by Anac – which took place on the 5th -, Infraero has until the beginning of October to prepare an operation plan with the new status. In November, in turn, the regulatory agency will disclose the distribution of slots (landing and take-off authorizations) in Congonhas for each airline, based on the new rules published in June.

A report by BTG Pactual produced at the time pointed out that, as of this regulation, there would be room for Azul to increase its market share at the airport from 7% to around 15%.

In a note, Anac explained that the capacity declaration published on the 5th was prepared and is the responsibility of the airport operator, according to Resolution 682/2022 of the regulatory body. The publication of the document is carried out by the Agency, also in accordance with the same resolution.

Anac also pointed out that the operating company – in the case of Congonhas, Infraero – is also the one carrying out the expansion of airport capacity. “Anac’s competence is to allocate slots and coordinate saturated airports, as well as guarantee the operational safety of the air sector,” he said.