It is possible to take a ride on the Brazilian Air Force plane; know how

You don’t have to be a military man or a member of the highest political level to travel on Brazilian Air Force (FAB) planes. Any citizen can board FAB transport aircraft and go to different locations in Brazil. The service is free and unlimited, but the experience is very different from a commercial flight.

Travel by civilians on air force aircraft is coordinated by the National Air Mail (CAN), which reports to the FAB’s General Support Command. Anyone interested in the flight must contact a CAN station (see contacts here) and fill in a registration form stating the destination to which they intend to travel.

The passenger, however, does not choose the day or time of travel on the FAB plane, as flights are not regular like those of an airline. Instead, the person selects a 15-day range. If within this period there is a vacancy on the aircraft that goes to the destination informed in the registration form, the citizen is called for the flight.

If there are no vacancies, the person can renew the travel request period for another 15 days.

The FAB informs that the transport of civilians takes place “in the benefit of some previously planned mission” and that “the embarkation of passengers does not represent any cost”.

In other words, it is an aircraft that invariably needs to carry out a flight (or mission, in aviation jargon) across the national territory and if there is extra space in the cabin, passengers are allowed to enter.

Passengers can travel on planes such as the C-95 Bandeirante, C-98 Caravan, C-99 Condor and even C-130 Hercules and KC-390 Millennium freighters.

The priority for boarding CAN flights, in order, is for Air Force, Navy, Army, officers’ family members and, finally, civilians enrolled in the program.

Those traveling by this modality also need to pay attention to the amount of luggage they take on the flight. If there is no space on the plane for the passenger who carries a lot of items, the one who brings the least luggage will board.

It is also worth noting that the aircraft do not have on-board service for passengers, and some military transport aircraft, such as the C-95 and C-98 turboprops, do not have restrooms.

Exclusive flights for authorities

The missions operated by Correio Aéreo Nacional essentially transport military personnel and civilians enrolled in the program. Members of the national political level, on the other hand, can request exclusive flights from the Grupo de Transporte Especial (GTE).

In this case, air transport may be requested by the president of the republic, vice president, ministers of state, commanders of the armed forces and the presidents of the Federal Senate, Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Supreme Court.

The Special Transport Group is the FAB squadron that operates the Brazilian presidential aircraft, the FAB VC-1A “Santos Dumont” (national designation for the Airbus A319CJ executive jet), among other official aircraft with restricted access.