Fábio Calvett
Reporter - Agência Brasil

São Paulo - In November the number of passangers who traveled on domestic flights rose 21.1% in comparison with November of last year. 2.8 million people traveled by plane in Brazil. The number of available places on domestic flights also increased, from 3.3 million to 4.1 million. These figures were furnished by the Department of Civil Aviation (DAC), released on Wednesday (7) by the National Union of Airline Companies (SNEA).

Domestic seat capacity use was practically stable in November, 69%, compared with 70% in November of last year.

In 2003 the Infraero - the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company - started a program for the expansion and modernization of the 66 airpórts that it administers in the country. The major factors behind this move are the need to increase domestic tourism and the need to move more freight.

According to DAC data, Brazil's chief airports received 82 million passengers, 11 million more than in 2004, constituting a 16.17% increase in domestic departures and arrivals. The biggest increase occurred in the number of domestic departures and arrivals, 71 million, the same as in 2003.

The number of international passengers rose from 9.9 million in 2003 to 11.2 million in 2004.The quantity of freight transportation, according to the DAC, " rose 30%, to 1.3 million tons, and in the first two months of this year, it was up 27.6%."

Translation: David Silberstein