Airport is symbol of Brazil's air chaos
Analysis
By Robert Plummer
Business reporter, BBC News
Even before Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo became the scene of Brazil's worst aviation disaster, it was already notorious as a symbol of transport chaos in the country.
Rescuers look for bodies at the scene of the crash at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, 17 July 2007
Up to 200 people were killed in Tuesday's crash
Congonhas has always been popular with business travellers because it is just 8km (5 miles) from the city centre, as opposed to the main international Guarulhos airport, which is 35km out of town.
It is also Brazil's busiest airport: more than 17 million passengers passed through it in 2005.
But it has problems going back as far as October 1996, when a TAM airlines Fokker-100 plane crashed shortly after take-off, hitting a block of flats and several houses. All 96 people on board were killed, as well as three on the ground.
That accident prompted fears that Congonhas was too close to residential areas and that its runways were too short for comfort - especially for pilots trying to land during Sao Paulo's all-too-frequent heavy rainstorms.
In February, a federal court briefly banned three types of large jet from using the airport, before the decision was overturned on appeal because of its potential economic impact.
At the same time, wider problems have intensified pressure on Congonhas, with discontent among air traffic controllers turning into a major infrastructure crisis across Brazil.
Airline turmoil
Air travel in Brazil has been in disarray for more than a year now, ever since the once-mighty flag-carrier Varig began cancelling flights because it could no longer meet operating payments.
Compare the size of Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport with similar airports in the US and UK
Enlarge Image
After months of efforts to restructure and sell off the debt-ridden airline, it fell into the hands of budget airline Gol, which snapped it up in April for $275m (£140m).
The implosion of Varig left the way clear for Brazil's other airlines, TAM and Gol, but it also made flights scarcer and more expensive - a serious difficulty in a country that is larger than all of Europe put together.
In October 2006, another crash brought matters to a head. A collision involving a US-owned private jet and a Gol Boeing 737 over the Amazon rainforest killed all 154 people on board the Boeing.
In the aftermath of that accident, various shortcomings in the cash-strapped Brazilian air traffic system came to light.
Radar coverage of the Amazon is apparently plagued by black holes, despite the launch five years ago of a $1.4bn surveillance system, known as Sivam, that was supposed to protect the region from drug-runners and illegal loggers.
And according to media reports, the poor English of controllers attempting to communicate with the executive jet's American pilots may have been a factor in the 2006 crash.
Civilian or military?
The other main consequence of that disaster was a go-slow by the air traffic controllers, who started working to rule in protest at low staffing levels, overwork and low pay.
Planes on runway at Sao Paulo's main airport with sign reading: Think Big
The advice to Think Big has not been heeded
The discontent was exacerbated in March after the men were told they faced prosecution for mutiny, since they are subject to military discipline even though they work in civil aviation.
For several hours, the country's airports were paralysed as controllers refused to allow any planes to take off.
One of the strikers' key demands was for their sector to be switched to civilian management. The idea that directing civil aviation should be under the armed forces' control is arguably an unnecessary hangover from Brazil's years of military rule, which ended in 1985.
They returned to work after the government's planning minister, Paulo Bernardo, agreed to "a gradual implementation of a civil solution".
But President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva later went back on the deal, saying: "Only after order has been re-established can we go back to talking about changes in the sector. I understand the reasons for the strike, but we can't allow this in the aeronautic service."
Muddling through
Observers say Lula was bowing to pressure from military commanders who were angered at his decision to negotiate with the strikers rather than discipline them.
Gol plane taking off from Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport
Gol eventually proved the winner in the race to buy Varig
Clearly wavering between his position as commander-in-chief and his background as a former trade union leader, Lula ended up muddling his way through.
But the problem has failed to go away. The air traffic dispute resurfaced in June, when renewed delays at airports prompted the Aeronautical Command of the Brazilian defence ministry to remove 14 controllers considered to be the ringleaders.
Defenders of Congonhas airport point out that neither the air traffic control problems nor the type of jet could be blamed for Tuesday's crash.
The plane, an Airbus A320, was not covered by the short-lived federal ban, they say.
But now that Brazil has suffered another major air accident, public confidence in the country's aviation is at an all-time low - and the authorities are likely to come under increasing pressure to resolve the long-running problems in the system.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/default.stmBrazil radar fault stops flights
By Gary Duffy
BBC News, Sao Paulo
Map
Flights between Sao Paulo and the US have had to turn back after radar in north Brazil shut down for two hours.
The problem occurred just one day after Brazil's president said air safety in the country met international norms.
The radar, at Manaus in Amazon state, covers the point of entry into Brazil used by some 90% of flights, including routes from the US and Central America.
More than 200 people died on 17 July when a Tam Airlines jet left the runway at Sao Paulo, crashing into a building.
According to Infraero, the company which runs Brazil's airports, the radar at Manaus shut down for just over two hours.
After the radar was fixed, it took another two hours before it was fully functioning.
Twin challenges
The flights that were affected were travelling in both directions between the US and Brazil.
Wreckage of the Tam Airlines plane in Sao Paulo (18 July 2007)
Tuesday's crash was Brazil's worst aviation disaster
One American Airlines flight had to stop in Manaus for a period of three hours.
The exact cause of the problem is not clear, but flights have been returning to normal.
In a speech to the Brazilian people on TV on Friday night, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva acknowledged that the air traffic system in the country was experiencing difficulties but said it was compatible with all international standards.
In normal times the fault with the radar might almost have passed unnoticed outside the country.
But after two major air accidents in a year, one of them over the Amazon, every problem is now attracting international attention.
The government is facing the twin challenges of maintaining international confidence in Brazil's air traffic system while also dealing with widespread anger within the country over its handling of the issue.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6910260.stm
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