Brazil: Infraero receives authorization to increase fees at Santos Dumont Airport
Infraero, the state-owned company that manages airports in Brazil, will increase fees at Rio de Janeiro’s Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) by up to 36%. The measure was approved by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) after Infraero argued that its revenues had declined due to operational restrictions imposed on the airport.
Santos Dumont Airport, traditionally one of Brazil’s ten busiest and a crucial hub for domestic traffic, has faced an annual capacity limit of 6.5 million passengers since 2023. This directive, issued by the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPOR), aimed to reduce congestion and improve service quality at a terminal that had been operating beyond its design capacity. For context, Santos Dumont processed more than 10 million passengers in 2022, and in 2023—despite the restriction being in effect only from November—it still reached 11.4 million passengers.
These operational limitations directly affected Infraero’s revenue structure. The company reported a 49% drop in boarding and landing revenues in 2023, while connection fees plummeted by 97%, according to figures published by Folha de São Paulo.
With the fee adjustment, the average revenue per passenger at Santos Dumont will rise from R$ 56.5 to R$ 77.2, an increase of R$ 20.7. Infraero maintains that this revision is essential to offset revenue losses and to ensure the viability of planned investments totaling R$ 400 million through 2026.
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According to Aeroin, one of our partner outlets, Infraero explained that “fees at Santos Dumont have historically been aligned with those at Congonhas, which already underwent a rate adjustment after privatization. We’re simply aligning the values,” while also emphasizing its commitment to operational efficiency, financial sustainability, and service quality.
It’s important to note that this increase affects the fees charged to airlines for services such as passenger boarding, connections, landings, and aircraft parking. These costs are typically passed on to consumers in the price of airline tickets.
Government policy has also redirected flights to Galeão International Airport (GIG), which is farther from the city center and has significant unused capacity. Despite the restrictions and resulting revenue decline, Santos Dumont was Infraero’s second most profitable terminal in 2023, generating revenues of R$ 616 million (about USD 109 million). Galeão’s operations are run through a joint venture between Infraero and private partners under the RIOgaleão Consortium.
Infraero had been requesting this fee increase since May 2024. Final approval was granted in March of this year, following a technical review by ANAC and MPOR.
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