The extensive and long-running airport privatization process in Brazil has had its champions and detractors. However, it has largely been regarded as a qualified success. Major global airport operators have risen to the challenge and are now very much in the picture, becoming de facto 'local Brazilian operators' in their own right. Generally, but not universally, the seven rounds of the Brazilian concession program have been marked by improved passenger services, higher commercial revenue, and more modern infrastructure in South America’s most populous country.

Most profoundly, it has been a financial boon for the Brazilian state thanks to the novel auction bidding model.

The transfer of operations from state-owned Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (Infraero) to a variety of international airport companies like Spain’s AENA and France’s VINCI Airports, as well as domestic players such as CCR, has gone fairly smoothly over the years and reduced state involvement (more on this below).

The majority of Brazil’s high-throughput airports, serving a potential country market of 212.8 million inhabitants, were auctioned off by 2017 (see chart below). There were also some instances of reconcessioning and renegotiation; processes that have been supervised via Brazil’s TCU (Federal Court of Accounts).

A Liberalizing Agenda

There was a clear evolution in the sell-off strategy. In the first four rounds (from 2011 to 2017), there were predominantly single-airport privatizations, which included the international gateways of São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) and Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão International Airport (GIG).

By the 5^th round, as smaller gateways came under the hammer, airports were being batched up in groups, often with a high-volume gateway acting as the carrot to entice bidders. This move from the Brazilian government and ANAC (Brazil’s national civil aviation agency), was aimed at ensuring that the country’s airport infrastructure was largely kept intact; a larger profitable airport in a cluster could, in effect, subsidize regional and small airports that were loss-making.

The seventh round in 2022 offered possibly the best example. Three tranches were available, the biggest being an 11-airport cluster where São Paulo’s Congonhas (CGH) was the jewel in the crown, being Brazil’s second-busiest airport. It was won by AENA.

The rest of this article examines the historical background to Brazilian airport privatizations and the factors that led to the process using charts and commentary. It also looks at what’s still on the chopping block.

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