THE federal government informed that it will revoke the decision that relaxed operational restrictions at Santos Dumont Airportlocated in the center of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The measure was taken after a meeting between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, with Mayor Eduardo Paes at Palácio do Planalto, in Brasília.
At the end of last year, the ministry announced a flexibility in the passenger limit of Santos Dumontwhich would rise from 6.5 million to up to 8 million per year from 2026.
“Against facts there are no arguments and the numbers don’t lie: the measures taken by President Lula at the beginning of his term allowed the recovery of Galeão airport, increasing the number of tourists and business to the State of Rio! Once again, I would like to thank President Lula for the permanent defense of Rio de Janeiro’s interests!”, wrote Eduardo Paes on the social network X. Minister Silvio Costa Filho shared Mayor Paes’ post on social media.
In a statement, the Ministry of Ports and Airports said that the revocation “was motivated by the significant growth of aviation and tourism in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which led to a joint discussion about the construction of a strategic agenda for the state”.
Santos Dumont’s limitation, of up to 6.5 million passengers per year, was established in 2023 as part of a rebalancing policy between Rio’s airports, prioritizing the growth of Tom Jobim International Airport, Galeão, which is located in the north of the capital of Rio de Janeiro. Since then, the annual number of passengers at the central airport has almost halved, from 10.9 million to 5.7 million. At Galeão, in the same period, movement more than doubled, going from 6.8 million to 16.1 million. As a result, the total number of passengers at Rio’s airports grew by 23%, from 17.7 million in 2023 to 21.8 million in 2025.
According to the ministry, the assisted sale process for Galeão Airport remains, with auction scheduled for March 30th.
“According to the solution agreed with the concessionaire and approved by the TCU [Tribunal de Contas da União]possible operational restrictions at Santos Dumont Airport imply an economic-financial rebalancing of the Galeão Airport concession contract”, says the note.
