Flight fright

The risks of overburdened air traffic infrastructure will come increasingly under the spotlight in Latin America after a TAM jet crashed at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport on July 17, killing 199 people.  Days later, a number of flights had to be rerouted after problems with radar systems over Amazonia, where two aircraft collided in mid-air in September, an accident blamed partially on Brazil's seriously overstretched air traffic controllers.  However, the authorities have angrily dismissed suggestions from international air traffic controller organisations that they should seek international assistance to ensure passenger safety. 

In Argentina, a lightning strike on the main radar system on March 1 left the country's main airports with limited radar coverage until a temporary system was installed a few days ago, causing endless delays and reports of several mid-air near-misses.  Delays and cancellations have affected up to half of Brazil's scheduled flights recently, a situation that is likely to continue after the government indefinitely suspended new ticket sales for flights using Congonhas. Serious disruption to air services, the two recent accidents in Brazil and fears of other incidents have raised doubts over the reliability of the whole air traffic control infrastructure. The situation will affect both tourism and the broader economy, especially as Buenos Aires and Brasilia have taken few steps to resolve underlying problems.  The issue is increasingly worrying given given that, with infrastructure already saturated, tourism is still growing, with the number of air travellers in Brazil is expected to triple over the next 20 years.