In 2013, the Civil Aviation Authority of Brazil (the Secretaria de Aviação Civil or SAC) launched an extensive logistical investment programme in airports in conjunction with the Banco do Brasil. Its first phase, in which Ineco collaborates, consists of modernising, newly constructing and enlarging 270 airports belonging to various states and municipalities.

In 2014, Ineco and its local partner were awarded the tender to carry out preliminary and feasibility studies, preliminary and construction projects, as well as geological and pavement analyses, on 65 regional airports.

The country boasts 2,890 private aerodromes and 721 public airports (28 exclusively for military use), of which 10% are managed by their owner, Infraero, and the rest belongs to states and municipalities.

Regional aviation is extremely important in Brazil due to the country’s extensive land mass of more than 8.5 million square kilometres and the fact that more than half of it is covered by the Amazon rainforest, which means regional air transport is vital to economic development and mobility. In addition, Brazil has one of the largest government fleets in the world, only eclipsed by that of the USA, with approximately 2,100 aircraft and a strong aviation industry. Therefore, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has calculated that by 2017 the domestic Brazilian aviation market will be the third largest in the world, with 122.4 million passengers.