The Brazilian civil aviation authority (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil - ANAC) says it has granted an air services licence to Globalia Linhas Aéreas Ltda to conduct scheduled passenger services. The nascent carrier is the Brazilian subsidiary of Spanish conglomerate Globalia Corporacion which controls Spanish airline, Air Europa.
"With the approval, and following the issuance of an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), the company may also operate in the Brazilian domestic market," ANAC said in a statement on Wednesday, May 22.
The move comes after the Brazilian Senate approved Provisional Measure 863/2018 allowing foreign airlines to establish wholly-owned subsidiary carriers in Brazil during a vote on Wednesday, May 22.
According to a Senate statement, in order to ensure the bill did not lose its validity, it agreed to omit a requirement that foreign-owned carriers must deploy at least 5% of their flights on regional routes for at least two years. The text also bars carriers from charging passengers for their first piece of checked baggage provided it weighs less than 23 kilograms when operating aircraft with more than 30 seats.
The bill now moves to President Jair Bolsonaro for signing before becoming law.
With Avianca Brasil on its last legs, legislators have hoped the opening up of the Brazilian market will lead to greater competition given the bulk of the country's trunk routes are now the domain of just three carriers; GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, LATAM Airlines Brasil, and Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras.
According to Brazilian media reports, Norwegian and SKY Airline (Chile) are said to be looking at establishing their own Brazilian subsidiaries.
