FEW FLIGHT DELAYS IN BRAZILIAN AIRPORTS DURING THE FIRST WEEKEND OF THE FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUPS BRAZIL 2013 – BRAZIL'S CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER

By Brazilian Secretariat of Social Communication (SECOM)

According to data from the Secretariat for Civil Aviation, delay rates were 8.5% on Saturday, and 4% on Sunday.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (17 June 2013) - The first weekend of the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 presented a low rate of flight delays at Brazilian airports serving the tournament's six host cities. According to data from Brazil's Secretariat for Civil Aviation (SAC), on Saturday an average delay of more than 30 minutes happened in 8.5 percent of scheduled flights, and on Sunday, in only 4 percent of flights.

"In airports, the operation was absolutely normal," said Chief Minister of SAC Moreira Franco during a press conference held on Monday (6/17) at the Open Media Centre located in Fort Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.

According to SAC's Secretary of Airports Juliano Noman, on Saturday, the opening day of the tournament, the operations in Brasília International Airport were 20 percent busier than usual, from 400 to 480 flights, serving approximately 30,000 people. The rate of delayed flights was 8.5 percent.

“This extra movement was efficiently absorbed by the airport and the operation was and has been very calm. The prognosis from now on is exactly the same,” said SAC's Secretary of Airports.

On Sunday, the Brasília International Airport registered 6.4 percent in delayed flights, Galeão International Airport (in Rio de Janeiro) had 5.1 percent, Recife, 6.5 percent, Confins (in Belo Horizonte) had 2.16 percent and Salvador Airport, 2.6 percent. There was no delay recorded at Fortaleza Airport.

Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil, ANAC) is conducting a special oversight operation of 10 Brazilian airports from 13 June to 2 July for the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013. The airports were selected for their increase flow of domestic passengers and foreign tourists during this mega sporting event, with seven of the airports at the six host cities for the tournament – Brasília/DF, Belo Horizonte/MG, Recife/PE, Salvador/BA, Fortaleza/CE and Rio de Janeiro/RJ (Galeão and Santos Dumont) – as well as three in São Paulo (Congonhas, Guarulhos and Viracopos).

Some 220 agency personnel will be on duty at these airports to oversee the provision of air passenger services, provide information on passenger rights and airline duties, and monitor airport operations during the event. At some airports – Galeão, Guarulhos and Brasília, for instance – the teams of agency personnel will be working around the clock. At the other airports, shifts will align with the airports' operating hours, 7:00 am to 11:00 pm.

“We are on alert 24 hours a day. So far, everything is going smoothly,” explained ANAC's President Marcelo Guaranys.

The ANAC special oversight operation is part of a sector-wide plan prepared by Brazil's National Airport Authorities Commission (Comissão Nacional de Autoridades Aeroportuárias, CONAERO), and coordinated by the Civil Aviation Secretariat (Secretaria de Aviação Civil da Presidência da República, SAC-PR). The plan comprises actions by the various entities with activities at the airports. Over the past four months, simulation exercises have been carried out at the airports that will be serving delegates and guests of the Confederations Cup tournament. The Civil Aviation Secretariat has also performed a number of inspections at the airports.