Continuing Brazil Air Traffic Delays
Safety & Security
Americas
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Brazil
11 Dec 2006
The Regional Security Office at U.S. Embassy Brasilia reported the following:
Overview
Flight delays have become the rule in Brazil over the last two months as air traffic controllers have instituted a "work-to-rule" operation, reducing the number of flights each controller handles to the internationally recommended limit of 14. The Brazilian press has started reporting on flight delays along with traffic congestion reports in the morning. According to one source, one-quarter of all flights in Brazil were delayed by at least 30 minutes on November 27.
The "work-to-rule" operation was instituted primarily in response to a September 29 mid-air collision and controllers' longstanding complaints that they were overworked. The decision to institute the "work-to-rule" policy was adopted unilaterally by the air traffic controllers, leading to a week of severe delays, flight cancellations and isolated incidents of unrest at several Brazilian airports in late October and early November. (See Safety and Security Report: Brazil Air Traffic Delays) In addition, technical failures, such as the one that occurred on December 5 temporarily halting most domestic flights out of São Paulo, Brasilia and Belo Horizonte, exacerbated already delayed flight schedules. Although technical failures of this significance remain the exception rather than the rule, flight delays have been common and Brazilian air safety has come under intense media scrutiny.
Technical and Financial Challenges
There were 22 in-flight incidents in Brazilian airspace between January and June 2006, compared to 80 such incidents for all of 2005 and 82 for all of 2004. Other accounts note that there have been four in-flight near misses between aircraft since May 2006.
Air traffic controllers have been voicing their complaints in the press, recently stating that equipment failures are quite normal. Reportedly, one of the controllers on duty on September 29, who was tracking the ExcelAire Legacy's flight from Brasilia, said that his computer screen was showing the jet's altitude to be at 36,000 feet when it really was flying at 37,000 feet. The controller then passed the incorrect information to his replacement on the next shift.
In addition, controllers have unanimously pointed out that there are blind spots and communication failures in the area where the September 29 accident occurred.
On the same day as the Legacy collision, air traffic controllers reportedly said that they had problems communicating with two other planes that were flying the same route as the Legacy jet. In this specific case, another airplane flying in the vicinity of the Legacy had to help relay emergency communications between air traffic control and the Legacy in order to direct it to a safe landing zone.
In addition to technical limitations, lack of resources has also been cited as a contributing factor to the current crisis. During the past four years, a period over which Brazilian air space saw a marked increase in flights, the budget for airspace management and air traffic security was reduced by 25%. Between 2003 and 2005, the Brazilian government invested 460.9 million reals (approximately US $223 million) annually in aviation. This was a significant reduction from the 2000-2002 period, when the average amount spent on aviation each year was 612.5 million reals. The draft 2007 budget for aviation calls for an 8% reduction in resources allotted to the sector. The passenger volume, however, has been growing between 15-20% per year over the last two years.
Significance for the U.S. Private Sector
As air traffic controllers continue to follow their "work-to-rule" policy, delays have been common throughout Brazil. As it can be difficult to predict which flights will be delayed and by how long, the employees of U.S. businesses traveling to and in Brazil should verify their flight status with their designated airline carrier.
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