Costa Filho: Expansion of flights at Santos Dumont will be discussed with Paes on the 30th

The Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, stated this Monday, the 19th, that the system of concentrating flights at Tom Jobim International Airport (Galeão), based on limiting movement in neighboring Santos Dumont, will be discussed with the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, until the 30th of this month.

According to the minister, the federal government continues to comply with the terms agreed with the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) and with the city of Rio. “We are enforcing what is agreed with the TCU. The mayor asked for a hearing and we have to listen to reflect”, stated Costa Filho during a press conference to present the balance of the civil aviation sector.

The minister explained that, after two years with a ceiling of 6.5 million passengers on Santos Dumont, the government is considering increasing this limit. “We will release another 1 million to 1.5 million passengers, and this will not affect Galeão’s operations,” he said last week. With the adjustment, Santos Dumont will be able to end 2026 with a limit of up to 8 million passengers per year.

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The restriction on operations at Santos Dumont was instituted by order from the Ministry of Ports and Airports and came into effect in January 2024, at the request of Rio’s management. Initially based on a maximum radius of 400 kilometers, the measure was later converted into an annual passenger ceiling, as part of the rebalancing policy between Rio de Janeiro’s airports, with a focus on recovering Galeão’s movement.

The possibility of raising the flight ceiling at Santos Dumont generated a reaction from Mayor Eduardo Paes, who criticized what he called “rumors”. According to him, “hidden forces are moving within Anac to change a successful policy.”

Data from Infraero and the concessionaire RioGaleão indicate that, after the imposition of the ceiling, movement at Santos Dumont fell from 10.9 million to 5.7 million passengers, while Galeão more than doubled, going from 6.8 million to 16.1 million, increasing the total number of passengers at Rio airports by 23% between 2023 and 2025.