The Brazilian business aviation fleet shrunk and flew fewer hours last year, but backers are still investing to have new business airports ready when the fleet bounces back and the airlines place more pressure on the capacity of major airports.
“Brazilian aviation has had a sustainable growth rate of 4 to 5 percent per year over the last few decades. The current recession is a hiccup,” according to Francisco Lyra, aviation partner on the Catarina São Paulo Business Airport project. The authority plans to pave an initial 1,400 by 45 meter (4,593 by 147 foot) section of runway starting after Carnival. The full 2,470-meter/8,100-foot runway “will allow the biggest business jets to take off at mtow, at 33 degrees C/91 degrees F,” Lyra told AIN. Catarina plans for its own control tower and customs facilities for international operations, allowing a single hop to Europe or the U.S.
Operations at Sorocaba were up 28.5 percent last year, and with construction of a control tower already under way the airport is laying the groundwork for international operations. Ramp space has more than doubled, to 14,800 sq m (159,305 sq ft) from 6,000 sq m (64,583 sq ft); four existing taxiways have been widened and two have been added; new illumination, signage and airport fencing are up; and the 30-meter-wide runway has been extended to 1,630 meters (5,348 feet) from 1,480 meters (4,855 feet), an improvement that awaits federal certification. A growing number of hangars with more reasonable rents have attracted aircraft from São Paulo’s Campo de Marte and Congonhas airfields. State airport authority DAESP is funding the improvements itself, without waiting for federal support. Embraer, Dassault and Gulfstream have opened maintenance facilities there. Embraer has co-located its first FBO with its MRO facility. Next door to Embraer, World Way Aviation is planning to open a 161,000-sq-ft independent FBO shortly.
The DAESP is preparing an RFP for the 30-year concession of a group of five business aviation airports in the São Paulo region: the flagship Jundaí; the Campo dos Amarais general aviation field in Campinas; Itanhaém and Ubatuba on the seashore; and in the upstate city of Bragança Paulista. After public hearings in December and January, the RFP will be published this month in time for contract signature in June. The bid calls for R$32.4 million (U.S.$8 million) in investments over the course of the first four years.
An environmental lawsuit halted construction on the Aerovale project in Caçapava–beyond São José dos Campos–from March last year through this January. Work has now restarted, and “Nothing changed in the original plans; we’ve kept all our objectives,” said developer Rogério Penido. The runway will be 1,550 meters by 30 meters (5,085 by 98 feet) and have capacity for up to 70 metric tons.
Projected to operate as an industrial and business condominium with a runway, Aerovale was issued the first federal license for a private airport to receive public flights and charge for operations rather than for hangarage or MRO services. While Aerovale’s location is more distant from the city of São Paulo than the other airports, the city is not its only market. Before construction work stopped, Aerovale had sold 12 lots to companies based in the capital, including three runway lots, and 30 lots to companies based in São José dos Campos and the surrounding region. Now that construction has resumed, “We’re 45 to 60 days from certification of the runway and its operation, and will finish the whole project in up to 24 months. Our development is open, and businesses are invited to come and see us,” said Penido.
Within the São Paulo city limits, Campo de Marte is Brazil’s busiest general aviation airport, and the Air Force has been making wider use of its logistics depot there, a bulwark for the field. An aviation executive who asked to remain anonymous told AIN, “Campo de Marte connects São Paulo to 1,300 different distinct locations, and that connection is essential to the city. It’s the hub of Brazilian agribusiness. All the King Airs that go to all the big farms fly from Campo de Marte.” The Master Plan issued by the city last year, projecting growth for the next 16 years, protected Campo de Marte. However, it failed to include the Harpia/Rodoanel business aviation airport proposal in the city’s southern reaches, the closest of any of the proposals to the city’s main business districts. In even the most optimistic evaluations, that project remains dormant.