Brasilia and São Paulo - The announcement from the National Civil Aviation Agency ( ANAC ) regarding the re-tendering of Brasilia International Airport, released at the end of June, drew attention for two reasons.
The first reason is the potential to attract competitors to the asset – including approximately R$ 1.2 billion in investments by 2037, a new international terminal, a parking garage, a new access road, and security equipment for passenger and baggage inspection.
The document even allows Inframerica Participações – which controls 51% of the current concessionaire responsible for Brasília Airport, with the state-owned company Infraero holding the other 49% – to participate in the new bidding process and remain in charge of the concession, should it present the best offer.
The second reason, however, came as a surprise: the tender notice clearly requires that Infraero must sell its stake in Inframerica, with no possibility of participating in the new bidding process.
The decision was not an isolated act by ANAC, but rather a consensual solution approved by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) in April, with the objective of maintaining the operation of Brasília Airport until 2037, the deadline foreseen for the end of the contract – as if the problem with the concession were indirectly Infraero's fault.
The recent case illustrates the decline experienced by the state-owned company since 2011, when the airport policy of Dilma Rousseff's government changed direction, betting on the concession of major airports to private initiative.
The idea was maintained by the Michel Temer government and gained momentum during the Jair Bolsonaro administration, with Resolution No. 52 of 2019 from the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI), instructing Infraero to withdraw from all partnerships with airport concessionaires.
Since then, the state-owned company has been waiting for contracts to expire so it can stop participating in concessions – such as this year at Galeão Airport and Brasília Airport – losing relevance, revenue, and even its reason for existing.
In an interview with NeoFeed , the Minister of Ports and Airports, Tomé Franca , assures, however, that as Infraero's participation in the country's main airports decreases, the government is already internally discussing a new role for the state-owned company. Franca sees Infraero linked to the management of regional terminals and acting more as a service provider and project manager.
"Infraero needs to redirect its size to manage some regional airports," says the minister. "But it doesn't need to shrink; it needs to take on new functions, and I think it would indeed make a great contribution to Brazilian aviation."
From peak to fall
Between 2011 and 2012, when Infraero experienced its peak, befitting its official name – Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company) – the state-owned company, created in 1973, managed 66 airports in all Brazilian capitals. In 2012, its airports broke historical records, handling 193 million passengers.
Today, Infraero is a shadow of its former self. It is responsible for 23 regional airports and Santos Dumont , in Rio de Janeiro, the only large airport with 100% ownership – and through which a large portion of the 7 million passengers handled by its airports pass, a 96% drop compared to its peak.
The continued downsizing by the current government confirms the impasse surrounding the state-owned company. Of the 13,000 employees between 2011 and 2012, Infraero retains 3,586, with 890 active and 2,700 seconded to other agencies, highlighting its underutilization.
To make matters worse, in the last two years, according to a report by The Intercept , the state-owned company has become a source of patronage jobs for politicians – who have secured at least 13 appointments to commissioned positions, with salaries ranging from R$ 21,000 to R$ 25,000.
The situation is far from easily resolved. Despite holding a 49% stake in important airports – such as Guarulhos, Confins, and Viracopos – Infraero has limited power in investment strategy due to its minority shareholder status. Furthermore, regional airports, with low traffic, drain resources without much prospect of return – reinforcing arguments for transferring them to the private sector or through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
According to Minister Franca, the trend is for the state-owned company that managed the main Brazilian airports until 15 years ago to completely withdraw from the largest ones, as already happened with Galeão, before the decision to exclude it from the new bidding process for Brasília Airport.
In addition to the airport in the federal capital, Franca states that the government is negotiating the renegotiation of the contract for Viracopos, in Campinas (SP), which will also retain control of six smaller airports after the process.
“In both cases, the government hopes to attract significant market interest, based on the logic of granting a large, profitable asset coupled with others of lower revenue,” the minister stated. Viracopos, however, is not expected to have an auction, only a contractual review, according to ongoing negotiations.
Franca also reports that Infraero itself commissioned a valuation to determine the value of its shares in Guarulhos (SP), Confins (MG) and Viracopos.
"Strange moment"
Experts interviewed by NeoFeed acknowledge the decline in relevance of Infraero in airport management and in formulating public policies for the sector. The central question is how to conduct this transition without causing harm to the National Treasury.
Fernando Biral, head of infrastructure at Mapa Capital – a company specializing in corporate restructuring and stake acquisition – describes the state-owned company's current situation as "strange."
"From an economic standpoint, although the company shows some operating profit, the overall result does not compensate, reinforcing the view that the company is unviable in its current format," says Biral.
According to him, this is evident in the uncertainty surrounding the future of Santos Dumont Airport, Infraero's main operational asset. "Despite its current importance, Santos Dumont is seen as a problematic asset in the long term, due to its complex duality with Galeão Airport," states the Mapa Capital executive.
Until 2023, the Santos Dumont–Congonhas air bridge accounted for almost 40% of the country's regular flights. After the restrictions imposed between 2024 and 2025 by the federal government and the Rio de Janeiro City Hall to ensure that the Galeão airport concession did not become unprofitable, Infraero's total demand fell by 41%.
“The central debate revolves around what would be the best arrangement for the distribution of air traffic between the two airports: maintaining route restrictions for Santos Dumont or allowing more open competition,” notes Biral. In other words, favoring Santos Dumont, for example, would go against the legal security of the Galeão concession.
Data from the state-owned company 's 2025 Integrated Annual Report indicates that Infraero's cash flow fell from R$ 2.488 billion in 2024 to R$ 986 million last year. "The net profit for 2025 was R$ 316 million, but this surplus was driven by the financial results of cash investments, and not by the operation itself," says Biral.
The negative EBITDA of R$ 514.6 million in 2024 remained negative in 2025 (R$ 35.9 million), forcing the state-owned company to resort to an "adjusted EBITDA" to present a positive indicator last year, of R$ 213.2 million. "In other words, the company continues to depend on Treasury contributions to carry out investments and cover expenses," says Biral.
He classifies as an "aberration" the fact that Infraero has 2,700 seconded employees. As an example, he cites general and administrative expenses, which totaled R$ 916.7 million in 2025, mainly due to the dismissal of employees through a voluntary redundancy program worth R$ 517 million.
Of the 738 employees laid off, 367 were active and 371 were seconded to other agencies. "This contingent of seconded employees represents a latent liability going forward, as new voluntary redundancy programs will require a very significant financial outlay," he warns.
Biral argues that Infraero should abandon its operational role, transferring regional airports to concessions or PPPs, and questions its role in planning, since the state-owned company Infra SA performs similar duties. "This overlap of responsibilities justifies the proposal for a merger between the two state-owned companies, with the aim of eliminating redundancies, generating savings, and optimizing government efficiency."
Ane Elisa Perez , a partner at the law firm Simões, Ribeiro, Bernardini & Furiati Advogados and a specialist in infrastructure contracts, disagrees with the idea of abolishing the state-owned company. “The central point is another: what institutional function should Infraero play in an airport sector that is currently predominantly concessioned? It is important to distinguish the roles of the institutions,” she says.
She points out that ANAC will continue as the regulatory authority, regardless of who operates the airports. Infraero, in turn, is a public operational company. "If public policy has significantly reduced its direct role in the operation of major airports, it is natural that its institutional mission needs to be redefined," she states.
According to Perez, this redefinition could involve the management of regional airports, specialized technical services, airport engineering, support for project structuring, or other functions compatible with the national aviation policy. "Only after this strategic definition is it possible to discuss what its organizational structure and staffing should be," he argues.
Rita Godoy, a partner at the law firm DDSA Advogados , partially agrees with the government plan mentioned by Minister Tomás Franca.
"Due to Brazil's characteristics and size, Infraero should be redefined to focus exclusively on regional aviation, provide technical consulting services, establish partnerships with states and municipalities, determine its actual necessary workforce size, and finally, launch voluntary redundancy plans," she says.
"However, there are stumbling blocks to consider, among them, the fact that the process of dissolving state-owned companies in Brazil tends to be slow, costly, and subject to political resistance," he adds.
