The Ministry of Ports and Airports launched this Wednesday (24) the first phase of the Voa Brasil program, which will offer air tickets for up to R$200 each way. The initial phase will make 3 million tickets available to retirees of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), regardless of income bracket. 
To purchase the cheapest tickets, the retiree must not have traveled by plane in the last 12 months. Each beneficiary will be entitled to two airline tickets per year.
According to the ministry, more than 23.3 million retirees will be entitled to the benefit. The purchase is made directly through the website gov.br/voabrasil with the Gov.br account. The account must be silver or gold level, to provide more security to the process. Those who have a bronze account must upgrade to include personal data and facial recognition.
Anyone who does not meet the criteria will not be able to log in to the website. When the user finds the desired ticket on the website, they are redirected to the airline’s website to make the purchase. Azul, Gol, Latam and VoePass participate in the program.
According to the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, the government’s idea is to expand the program to students enrolled in the University for All Program (ProUni) and the National Program for Access to Technical Education and Employment (Pronatec). The program is expected to begin in the first half of 2025. “This is the first step to include more Brazilians traveling around Brazil,” he said.
Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, highlighted the benefits of the program for the population, especially for health. “To combat depression and anxiety, there is nothing better than going out, meeting other people, visiting loved ones, family, friends and getting to know Brazil, this fascinating country.”
Idleness
Airlines’ participation will be voluntary and there are no public funds involved in the program. Azul Airlines CEO John Rodgerson explained that the idea is to take advantage of aircraft idleness during the low season.
“Every flight we have, there are empty seats. So we have the opportunity to include more people, and that doesn’t mean that other people will have to pay more, but they have to plan more, buy in advance, they can’t fly on holidays. Retirees are a more flexible group, they don’t have jobs, so they can travel when it’s not peak. That’s where the industry wants people to travel,” he said.
Currently, from January to June, the average aircraft idle rate is 20%.
According to the National Secretary of Civil Aviation, Tomé Franca, only 2% of the occupancy on Brazilian aircraft is made up of people over 65 years of age, while the Brazilian population in this age group is 10% of the total. “Our work was to gather this set of ticket availability during the low season and when aircraft are idle, which reaches 20%,” he explained.
