Brazil Wants to Ramp Up Airlift Across South America

The Brazilian government is ready to trumpet two months from now a new South American integration project that will eventually open up the region´s air space to more flights and will bring in more tourists.

The project, mapped out by the country´s Tourism Ministry, must be implemented within six months following rounds of consultations with other nations and once all red-tape barriers that hamper the opening of new routes and the establishment of more regular flights are knocked down.

Sources from the Brazilian Tourism Ministry believe the plan will help cut down on costs and raise offers to as many as 14 million South American passengers that travel on a regular basis for business or leisure reasons.

Brazilian authorities are bent on reaching out to more South American cities because local airlines are now just flying to Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile.

Varig, Brazil´s flagship air carrier, is covering Asuncion, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Cordoba, La Paz, Lima, Montevideo, Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia) and Santiago.

For its part, TAM is flying to Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile –with plans in the offing to stretch it out to Lima. Gol, Brazil´s newest and most profitable carrier that´s currently covering the Argentine capital, is planning to start flying to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Montevideo, Asuncion and Santiago de Chile.