IATA boss has said Brazil will need to significantly upgrade its airport facilities to cope with traffic during the 2014 World Cup. Speaking to a conference in Panama, Giovanni Bisignani, head of the International Air Transport Association, said: “To avoid a national embarrassment, Brazil needs bigger and better facilities for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. But I don’t see progress and the clock is ticking.
He added: “The time for debate is over.”
Constantino de Oliveira Junior, chief executive of Gol Airlines, echoed concerns and said that even of “earmarked investments are made as planned, we will reach airport capacity before the World Cup, given the demand creation we are seeing today”.
Airport operator Infraero is being blamed for falling behind with plans to develop national infrastructure. However Infraero, the government owned company that runs Brazil’s 67 largest airports, says it has an investment plan for the World Cup and will spend billions of dollars improving airports at the 12 cities directly involved with the event using prefabricated modules in many places that are quick and cheap to build.