Chamber resumes free luggage up to 23 kg on domestic flights

The Chamber of Deputies banned this Tuesday (26) the charging of a fee to check luggage weighing up to 23 kg on domestic flights and a suitcase weighing up to 30 kg on international flights.

The device was approved by 273 votes to 148 during a vote on a provisional measure that relaxes rules in the air sector. The text, reported by Deputy General Peternelli (União-SP), modifies four laws and repeals provisions on the operation of airports.

The basic text of the MP was approved by 294 votes to 90. The text will still be considered by the Senate – if it is not voted on by June 1st, it loses its validity.​

After voting on the basic text, the deputies approved the highlight that resumes the free check-in of luggage. In a social network, the author of the amendment, deputy Perpétua Almeida (PC do B-AC), criticized airline companies. “Airlines are abusing the price of tickets, it’s not fair to charge for luggage”.

The opposition leader in the Chamber, deputy Wolney Queiroz (PDT-PE), stated that the argument that charging for checked baggage would help to make airfare cheaper was “nonsense”. “It was talk for ox to sleep. And what would happen, in fact, would be the price of tickets not decrease. Amazingly, the tickets increased, and a lot”, he said.

In 2019, Congress had already dropped the charge for checking baggage up to 23 kilograms on aircraft with up to 31 seats. President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), however, barred the device and parliamentarians maintained the veto.

The MP approved this Tuesday ends the need for concession contracts for airlines, releases the construction of airfields without prior authorization and authorizes companies to bar undisciplined passengers for up to one year.

In the explanatory memorandum sent, the government stated that the end of the need for concession contracts for airlines is based on the premise, supported by the jurisprudence of the Federal Supreme Court, that the activities are not public services.

“In other words, these are not services exclusively owned by the State and whose access, therefore, requires an administrative grant. On the contrary, it is an economic activity of public interest provided by private agents who must observe the regulation established for the sector” , indicates the exposure.

In addition, the MP revokes the obligation to revalidate grants to companies every five years and eliminates the need for authorization for foreign companies to operate. It also puts an end to the requirement that there be prior authorization for the construction of airfields.

Deputy Afonso Florence (PT-BA) criticized the device for removing from Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) the competence to evaluate the proposal to build airfields.

“An investor is going to build an airstrip, without Anac’s approval, and only later ask for the agency’s authorization. Can you imagine if, after an investment of millions, that airfield will not be accredited? It probably will be”, he said. “And if it has to undergo a post-construction review, why doesn’t it undergo a pre-construction review?”

In a note, PSOL technicians assess that the device prioritizes the private interest to the detriment of state planning, safety and inspection rules, “potentially able to achieve mitigation of environmental and urban standards”.

The provisional measure also brings sanctions to passengers considered undisciplined. The airline may stop selling tickets for up to one year to anyone who has committed very serious indiscipline — the civil aviation authority will regulate the acts considered extremely serious, the treatment given to the undisciplined passenger and the measures that will be taken.

The identification data of passengers who commit very serious acts may be shared by those who offered the service with other providers.

The MP also establishes that, if there is a crime in which one of the crew of the aircraft needs to be detained, the aeronautical authority, in addition to informing the police or the competent judicial authority, must take the measures that allow the flight to proceed.

With the approval of the text, the federal government is also authorized to carry out the bidding process under the sponsored concession modality in eight airports in the state of Amazonas. The airports are in Barcelos, Carauari, Coari, Eirunepé, Lábrea, Maués, Parintins and São Gabriel da Cachoeira.

It is not the first time that the bidding for these airports has been included in an interim measure. In 2021, Deputy Delegate Pablo (União-AM) tried to insert the terminals in an MP that dealt with reimbursement and rescheduling of airline tickets on flights canceled during the pandemic. At the time, President Arthur Lira considered matter strange.

In November of last year, the government sent a bill to Congress to promote bids for the celebration of sponsored concession contracts at airports in Amazonas. The text, however, did not move.