With the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus looming, airlines have begun to reduce flights across the country to the bare minimum. Araçatuba, since last week, VoePass flights had already been canceled.
Yesterday (25), Azul also announced the suspension of operations, and next Saturday, Gol will also no longer operate in the city. The suspensions are expected to be valid until the beginning of May.
The three companies offer options on their websites for passengers who had already purchased trips to ask questions, reschedule their flight, or cancel.
In short, Dario Guarita Airport in Araçatuba recently underwent renovations. Previously, the airport only served Azul flights, but in the second half of 2019, it also received VoePass and Gol flights.
Meanwhile, the work being done at the airport includes asphalt resurfacing on access points 05 (from the Habiana condominium to the airport) and 23, in the opposite direction. In total, improvements were made to 11,000 square meters of asphalt. The terminal was also painted, the lighting was improved, and other minor maintenance work was carried out.
Airlines Reduce Flight Network to One Daily Flight to Each Capital City Due to Coronavirus
After discussions between the government, Anac (National Aviation Agency) and companies, it was decided that there will be at least one daily flight to and from the capitals.
Gol was the first to announce, this Tuesday (24), that it will only make 50 daily flights between São Paulo's international airport, in Guarulhos, and the other 26 capitals. The new routes begin on Saturday (28) and will be in effect until the beginning of May.
All of the company's regular regional and international operations will be suspended. This represents a reduction of 92% in the domestic market and 100% in the international market.
At Azul, there will be only 70 daily flights to 25 cities. The plan comes into effect from this Wednesday (25) and will extend until the end of April.
According to the company, the flights will also “enable the transportation of cargo, such as medicines and organs, and of health professionals who work directly in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.”
Latam has not yet announced its new routes, but it should also announce them soon.
Although companies must submit their flight review plan to ANAC (National Aviation Agency), which approves the reduction, analyzes the proposals, and makes adjustments where necessary, the idea is to avoid overlapping flights, for example.
Therefore, the reduction of the network was one of the measures discussed this Monday between the Ministry of Infrastructure, Anac and airlines.
Coronavirus suspends flights
Unlike other countries, which have closed their airspace, the Brazilian government wants to keep flights to a minimum to ensure the circulation of healthcare professionals and the supply of cities, especially with medicines and medical equipment.
The companies accepted the scheme, but are asking the government to open special lines of financing.
However, estimates made at the meeting by the companies indicate that, even operating with only one daily flight, they will have an estimated occupancy rate of around 40%, which means they will be recording a loss.
According to Abear, the association representing airlines, demand for domestic flights is expected to be zero by the end of this week (a reduction of 100%) due to the coronavirus pandemic. Demand for international flights was already at this level earlier this week.
Although the organization's president, Eduardo Sanovicz, said that companies are also repatriating Brazilians this week on special flights.
"Companies have already brought in around 16,000 Brazilians," said Sanovicz. "But there are still thousands to bring back. There are 300 people in Peru alone."