Source: Jornal do Commercio Brasil - RJ, 09/06/2009

Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said yesterday that 98 Infraero employees who came to office due to political indications will be fired. “Most of these people didn't even know who they were. It is what is known as tortoise on the branch, that is, if it is there it is because someone put it, because tortoise does not climb a tree ”, said the minister, during a lunch-debate promoted by the Group of Business Leaders - Lide, in São Paulo.

According to Jobim, there were several political complaints and some of these “characters” even used sick leave to avoid being fired. “It was a risky activity with regard to my position, since it even reached leaders of my party. But I had to do this, because otherwise we won't fix the problem at Infraero and we couldn't make it a viable and competent company ”, he said.

For the defense minister, the solution to the saturation of Brazilian airports is the concession system to the private sector. In response to a question about the system, asked by the president of Jornal do Commercio and Rádio Tupi, Mauricio Dinepi, Jobim avoided calling this concession privatization, according to him, for political reasons.

“We are going to replace the word privatization with concession. That word gives me less trouble. It is a concession system to the private sector, because it does not become the owner of the airport. The patrimony remains public ”, he considered. According to Jobim, also in response to inquiries from the president of Gocil, Washington Cinel, Agilent Technologies, Reinaldo Castanheira, Avaya, Cleber Pereira de Morais, and Etco, André Franco Montoro Filho, the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac ) the new modeling for the Brazilian airport system ends in July, which includes a new airport in the state of São Paulo and changes at Viracopos and Galeão airports.

Jobim said that the location of the new airport in São Paulo will depend on the bidding, even to not raise the values ​​of the properties if there is any pre-determination of where the airport should be built. According to him, a regional development policy is also being studied, that is, to create legislation with different treatment and different rules for companies that fly routes on low (up to 5 passengers per year) or medium intensity (from 5 to 20 passengers) thousand passengers / year).

In response to the question of TAM's president, David Barioni Neto, Jobim clarified that only a national company would receive this differential treatment. “We would even arrive at the eventual tariff complement and concession of the route. We would do a calculation based on 70% occupancy, the State could guarantee seats up to 50% and the company would seek 20% in the market ”, he said, emphasizing that this would apply to flights to Africa as well.

These subsidies could also be for reducing the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Goods (ICMS) and fixing the value of the aircraft's fuel. According to Jobim, passenger terminals are saturated in airports such as Brasília, Guarulhos, Congonhas, Viracopos and Confins.

The minister also informed that he is studying a form of treatment in relation to the slots (physical spaces) of Congonhas. "Anac is launching a formula for calculating the eventual redistribution of" entrants "in Congonhas," he said. Congonhas has 33 slots.

Jobim also informed the more than 300 businessmen who met yesterday in São Paulo that Brazil is moving towards having an international airspace control system by satellite. Today, starting with Fernando de Noronha, this control is done by radio.

They were present at the Lide event, led by João Doria Junior, among others, Solange Vieira, general director of Anac; Souza Cruz president, Dante João Letti; Amil, Fernando Meireles; the Golden Cross Council, Paulo Afonso; Vivo, Roberto Lima; from Grupo Advento, Juan Quirós; Hélio Neto, general manager of Hertz; Ricardo Saad, of the Bandeirantes Group; Paulo Roberto Porto Castro, director general of Terra; Edson de Godoy Bueno, president of Fundação Getúlio Vargas; Luiz D ”Urso, president of the Brazilian Bar Association of São Paulo, in addition to deputy Alberto Goldman and senator Romeu Tuma (PTB-SP).