Brazil Air Travel Safe but Lacks Controllers

Brazil’s air traffic control is understaffed and lacks modern equipment, but travel is still safe, aviation authorities told Congress last week. Lawmakers called the hearing to investigate a 6-month-old aviation crisis that culminated in a nationwide airport shutdown last month when about 100 air traffic controllers walked off the job.

Controllers returned to work after a few hours, but they have threatened to resign if their demands are not met. They want a pay increase, safety equipment upgraded and the system to be run by civilians not the military.

Several international aviation experts have cautioned about inadequate flight security in Brazil and one group said safety was as poor as in Africa.

The March strike renewed criticism that Lula had underestimated aviation problems that surfaced after Brazil’s worst air crash in September.

Investigators say faulty radio contact may have contributed to the mid-air collision of a small executive jet and a GOL airlines Boeing 737 on September 29 that killed 154 people.

A subsequent shortage of air traffic controllers –some were suspended and others on holiday- caused widespread flight delays and cancellations. Air traffic in Latin America’s largest country has grown, on average, by 17 percent annually for the past four years.