Brazil offers more pandemic support to airport operators to alleviate financial impact

Brazilian civil aviation authority Anac approved 364mn reais (US$64mn) in financial support for the operators of 13 airports to alleviate the financial pandemic impact on their business. 

Offering financial support is a way for the government to keep investors interested in next year’s auction of airport concessions.  

"We’re advising an international company that’s likely to make an offer in the new round of airport concessions in 2022. Even with the impact of the pandemic on the sector, the interest remains as the government was very quick to guarantee support to concessionaires at a time of an unparalleled decline in demand," a high-ranking project finance executive at a major bank told BNamericas. 

The government plans to hold an auction in the second quarter of 2022 for the concessions of 16 airports, which are expected to generate investments worth 8.8bn reais. The 30-year contracts will be offered in three blocks, combining busy airports with those that have less traffic. 

ANAC SUPPORT 

The latest financial support from Anac will benefit four groups: Spain's Aena (operator of Recife, Maceió, João Pessoa, Aracaju, Campina Grande and Juazeiro do Norte airports), Brazilian group Socicam Terminais (Cuiabá, Sinop, Rondonópolis and Alta Floresta airports), France's Vinci Airports (Salvador airport) and German firm Fraport (Fortaleza and Porto Alegre airports).

The support will come in the form of an exemption or reduction of the concession fees that the operators pay the government.

Although Brazil is advancing rapidly with its vaccination against COVID-19, companies in the airline sector are still feeling the impact of the pandemic.

In the third quarter, the three largest airlines operating in the country, Gol, Latam and Azul, posted a combined loss of 5.7bn reais.

Although passenger demand in 3Q21 was more than double the demand in the same period of 2020, it was still 19.8% lower than 3Q19.