9 out of 10 passengers start using airports controlled by private companies

With the signature of the most recent contracts of the airport concessions program, the equivalent of 91.6% of the volume of passengers transported will be transferred to private agents, according to data from Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency), from 2011 to 2022.

The government’s strategy has been to combine coveted airports with loss-making terminals, to balance the blocks. In the most recent auction, from the seventh round of airport concessions, which took place in August of this year, another 15 airports were sold, grouped into three blocks.

The main one, Congonhas (SP), entered the radar of the Spanish company Aena — which already had six terminals in the Northeast under its responsibility.

In addition to it, among the winners of the auctions that have changed the face of the main Brazilian terminals there are from consortia formed by companies that already operated in other modals —such as CCR and Socicam— to large operators in Europe, such as the French Vinci, German Fraport and Switzerland Zurich.

See what they are:

> Aena:
– Northeast Block
Aracaju (SE), Campina Grande (PB), João Pessoa (PB), Juazeiro do Norte (CE), Maceió (AL) and Recife (PE)

– SP/MS/PA/MG Block
Altamira (PA), Campo Grande (MS), Carajás (PA), Congonhas – São Paulo (SP), Corumbá (MS), Marabá (PA), Montes Claros (MG), Ponta Porã (MS), Santarém (PA) , Uberaba (MG) and Uberlândia (MG)

In 2019, Aena won the concession for six airports in the Northeast, including those in Recife, Maceió and João Pessoa, with a bid of BRL 1.9 billion and BRL 2.15 billion in investments.

In August 2022, the Spanish group was also the only interested party in the block that included the so-called jewel in the crown of the most recent auction round, Congonhas airport in São Paulo. Aena won the São Paulo terminal and ten other airports with an offer of BRL 2.45 billion (231% premium).

Aena, whose main shareholder is the Spanish government, also operates Madrid-Barajas airport, one of the busiest in Europe, in addition to controlling another 45 airports in the country, one in Mexico, two in Colombia and two in Jamaica. Recently, the group received a negative evaluation from the administration of Recife airport, with failures observed in the systems for processing baggage at boarding and baggage return.

> CCR Airports:
Central Block
Goiânia (GO), Imperatriz (MA), Palmas (TO), Petrolina (PE), São Luís (MA), Teresina (PI)

South Block
Bacacheri – Curitiba (PR), Bagé (RS), Curitiba (PR), Foz do Iguaçu (PR), Joinville (SC), Londrina (PR), Navegantes (SC), Pelotas (RS) and Uruguaiana (RS)

In 2021, CCR won the auction for the Central Block, with a bid of BRL 754 million (premium of 9,156%) and a forecast of BRL 1.8 billion in investments in the six air terminals. The block’s airports transported around 7.3 million passengers in 2019, and passenger movement is forecast to increase by 208% over the 30-year contract (22.5m).

The South Block had an initial contribution of R$ 2.128 billion and a premium of 1,534.36% over the minimum initial bid of R$ 130.2 million. The group comprises nine airports and, together, the terminals transported around 12.4 million passengers in 2019. In 30 years, the sum of passengers transported by these airports could reach around 27 million.

The group entered the airport segment in 2012. In other operations, the company is responsible for 3,615 kilometers of highways in the national concession network, in five states. In addition, CCR is in the passenger transport segment, through concessionaires such as ViaQuatro (Line 4 of the Metro) and CCR Metrô Bahia.

> Socicam (in partnerships):
Midwest Block (Aeroeste Consortium – Socicam and Sinart)
Alta Floresta, Cuiabá, Rondonópolis and Sinop (all in MT)

North Block 2 (NovoNorte Consortium – Socicam/Dix Empreendimentos)
Belém (PA) and Macapá (AP)

The company has 24 airport terminals under its management in the country. Last August, Socicam — which also manages passenger terminals, such as the Tietê bus station, in São Paulo — and Dix Empreendimentos (which already operated terminals in the Northeast) won the block that covers the airports of Belém (PA) and Macapá. (AP). The offer of the consortium called NovoNorte was R$ 125 million (premium of 119.78%), and managed to beat an offer from Vinci, of R$ 115 million.

The movement reinforced the tendency of bus terminal operators to expand their area of ​​operation with airport management. Three years earlier, in 2019, Socicam had already won four airports in Mato Groso with the Aeroeste consortium, formed in partnership with Sinart, with a bid of R$40 million and planned investments of R$770.6 million.

> Fraport Brazil:
Fortaleza (CE) and Porto Alegre (RS)

In 2017, Fraport, which had lost the dispute over Galeão airport four years earlier, was the most aggressive competitor in that concession round. The German company took the airports of Fortaleza (with an offer of R$ 425 million) and Porto Alegre (R$ 290.5 million).

The company benefited from a rule change, which allowed the same group to bid on terminals located in different regions.

According to the group, the Frankfurt airport complex, which is its base, employs more than 80,000 people. Fraport’s portfolio spans four continents, with activities in 31 airports worldwide. In fiscal 2019, it made a profit of around €454 million.

> GRU Airport:
Guarulhos – Sao Paulo (SP)

With the signature of the concession contract, in 2012, the concessionaire of the Guarulhos International Airport was formed, with 51% of the shares belonging to Grupar (Grupo Invepar and ACSA, from South Africa) and 49%, to Infraero (Empresa Brasileira of Airport Infrastructure).

In February 2013, the concessionaire assumed full management of the largest passenger terminal in Latin America. To meet the growing demand, among the main works are the construction of the new passenger terminal (T3), which came into operation in May 2014, and the modernization project of Terminals 1 and 2, whose works were delivered in the second half of 2016.

> Inframérica:
Brasilia DF)

In 2012, the consortium that includes Inframérica bought the Brasilia terminal for R$4.5 billion, or 673% more than the government’s request.

A decade after winning the auction, Inframerica, which is part of the Argentine multinational Corporación América, is expected to take a R$700 million investment real estate development project off the ground.

The complex includes a shopping mall, a logistics center and an entertainment center. In addition to being one of the busiest airports in the country, the Brasília terminal also has the attraction of having direct flights to all capitals.

>Vinci Airports:
North Block
Boa Vista (RR), Cruzeiro do Sul (AC), Manaus (AM), Porto Velho (RO), Rio Branco (AC), Tabatinga (AM) and Tefé (AM)

Salvador Airport (BA)

With eight terminals in Brazil, Vinci manages seven terminals in the North region. The block formed by the airports of Manaus, Porto Velho, Rio Branco, Cruzeiro do Sul, Tabatinga, Tefé and Boa Vista, was sold in 2021 for R$ 420 million, with a premium of 777.47% in relation to the initial minimum bid.

At the time, the French group indicated that the Amazon region represents a synergy with its operation in French Guiana, which has direct flights to Paris.

In total, the French group operates 53 airports in 12 countries in Europe, Asia and America. Vinci had also won the Salvador airport in 2017, with an offer of more than R$660.9 million. The minimum offer for Salvador was R$310 million.

> XP Infra IV:
– General Aviation Block
Campo de Marte – São Paulo (SP) and Jacarepaguá – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

In August 2022, XP Infra IV won the block formed by the airports of Campo de Marte (SP) and Jacarepaguá (RJ), being the only competitor, with an offer of BRL 141.4 million — a premium of 0. 01%. According to the company, the move marks its entry into the sector, through XP Asset.

The block, called “General Aviation”, contemplates operations that are not regular flights – mainly helicopters and private and small planes. Anac’s estimate is that the movement at the terminals will reach 700 thousand passengers in 30 years, when the contract ends.

XP fund representatives attributed part of the interest in the airports to the potential for real estate exploration. In addition, they expect a part of Congonhas’ executive aviation to be absorbed by Campo de Marte in the coming years, which should increase revenue.

> Zurich Airport:

– Southeast Block
Florianópolis (SC) Macaé (RJ) and Vitória (ES)

– BH airport (in partnership with CCR):
Confins – Belo Horizonte (MG)

The Zurich Airport group operates terminals in different parts of the world: in addition to the airport in Zurich, Switzerland, and the terminals in Florianópolis, Vitória, Macaé and Belo Horizonte, in Brazil, the company has investments in Bogotá (Colombia), Curaçao ( in the Caribbean) and Iquique and Antofagasta (in Chile).

In 2019, the Swiss company won the auction for the airports of Vitória and Macaé, with a bid of BRL 437 million.

In Belo Horizonte, the Swiss group has been operating the Tancredo Neves International Airport since 2014 with the CCR group. The Swiss company also won the Florianópolis project in 2017, with an offer of BRL 83 million. The minimum initial proposal was R$ 53 million. Florianópolis was the most disputed airport of that round, having been the target of 11 bids.