Brazil Preparing To Boost Bizav Capacity

Brazil is moving forward to privatize airport terminals to handle the anticipated 25-percent annual growth in commercial aviation, as well as traffic increases expected for the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics.As it gathers bids for these privatization efforts, it is now turning its attention to increasing business aviation capacity, with plans proposed for airports catering to private jets on opposite sides of São Paulo, the largest city in South America.

Brazilian business aviation association Abag has proposed converting a military area around the São José dos Campos Airport into ramp parking for business jets arriving for the World Cup. The proposal also includes establishing an “aviation university” to train pilots, flight technicians and engineers, as well as the building of maintenance hangars.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s civil aviation agency, ANAC, has already approved a $210 million project for a business aviation airport on the other side of São Paulo, complete with an 8,850-foot runway. The plan still needs approval from Brazil’s Secretariat of Civil Aviation and the Air Force’s Department of Air Space Control. The project is a partnership between luxury developer JHSF and Brazilian business aviation firm C-Fly.