BRAZIL RISKS public embarrassment because it will run out of space at its airports well before it hosts the World Cup in 2014, due to a rapid increase in demand and inadequate development plans, according to leading airline industry executives.
Without more development, observers fear that Brazil will face flight delays and cancellations around the World Cup and, in the long term, constrained economic growth and continued substandard travel conditions.
“To avoid a national embarrassment, Brazil needs bigger and better facilities for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics,” Giovanni Bisignani, head of the International Air Transport Association, the airline trade body, told a conference in Panama yesterday.
“But I don’t see progress and the clock is ticking,” Mr Bisignani said. “The time for debate is over.”
The comments underscore long-running concerns that the country’s infrastructure will not be adequately prepared for the two high-profile events that Brazil is due to host in the next six years.
“Even if earmarked investments are made as planned, we will reach airport capacity before the World Cup, given the demand creation we are seeing today,” according to Constantino de Oliveira Junior, chief executive of Gol Airlines, Brazil’s second largest airline.
Much of the criticism has been directed at Infraero, the government-owned company that runs Brazil’s 67 largest airports, for failing to develop national infrastructure or move ahead with plans to privatise key hubs as a way to inject capital and expertise.
For its part, Infraero says it has an investment plan for the World Cup and will spend billions of dollars improving airports at the 12 cities directly involved with the event using prefabricated modules that are quick and cheap to build.
An Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Brazil begins on Sunday with over 30 Irish firms taking part. The delegation will meet with Rio’s Olympic committee on Wednesday to explore the potential for Irish firms to supply services to the organisers. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)