Brasília – President Michel Temer signed a temporary decree on Thursday (13) allowing Brazilian airlines to have unlimited participation of foreign capital, in other words 100%. This lifted the previous 20% limit on foreign investment in Brazilian airlines.
‘This solves one of the main problems in Brazilian aviation, the source of financing for airline companies. This way, we may have the participation of foreign capital in funding, independently of the origin,’ said the presidential chief of staff Eliseu Padilha when announcing the decree.
This week Avianca (picture above) filed bankruptcy. The company has a million-dollar debt to suppliers and airports. Padilha said the decree was not made specifically to help Avianca, but the company may benefit from it. The issue was already being brought up at time of the merger between the Chilean LAN and the Brazilian TAM, resulting into the creation of LATAM.
‘Avianca may happen to be benefited with this process. With this decree, some international company may be interested in remodeling Avianca’s financial conditions,’ he said.
According to Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), the decree will stimulate a deconcentration of airline companies in the domestic market, an increased quality of offered routes, and the integration with international routes. According to ANAC, the professions of aircraft pilots, flight attendants, and flight engineers remain exclusive to natural or naturalized Brazilian.
*With information from the ANBA Newsroom
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
