July 11, 2014
Latin American business aviation operations have been recently in focus, first as many operators traveled to Brazil for the 2014 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, and now as the business aviation community, including NBAA representatives, prepare for participation in the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (LABACE).
The 11th annual LABACE, held by the Associacao Brasileira de Aviacao Geral (ABAG), will take place Aug. 12 to 14, 2014, at the Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil.
Doug Carr, NBAA’s vice president of regulatory and international affairs, will attend on behalf of NBAA’s Member Companies. NBAA will have a booth at the show, No. 4034. “It’s important that NBAA Members have representation at LABACE, since Latin America is an important part of the business portfolio for many of our members,” said Carr.
Carr noted that beyond an assessment of traffic management for the World Cup, LABACE participants will also be looking ahead to anticipated traffic issues related to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, to be hosted in Rio. Aviation activity is expected to rise in Rio for the games.
“We look forward to working with Latin American business aviation leaders to help the Brazilian government and our industry prepare for the 2016 games, by examining lessons learned from the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” Carr noted. “LABACE will provide a good opportunity to discuss the matter.”
Carr noted that even when major sporting events are not taking place in Latin America, NBAA routinely fields inquiries about business aviation missions in the region. The Association, Carr said, advises operators to do their research prior to a flight, in part because many policies and procedures vary from one country to another.
For example, Carr said, in order to land in or overfly Brazil, operators must provide advanced notice, and landing permits can take up to 48 hours to obtain. A temporary admission is required for foreign aircraft to operate domestically within Brazil, and to get the admission, an operator must present aircraft registration, certificate of airworthiness, pilot licenses and aircraft insurance policy.
Also, Carr noted, passenger visa requirements vary depending on country of citizenship. Typically, crewmembers with national aviation authority certificates (i.e. pilots or certificated flight attendants) and passports, who are on duty and in uniform, do not require visas. Finally, Carr said, while language barriers in Brazil can create significant operational issues, local handlers can help mitigate the risk of communication error.
Following the model of the NBAA Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, LABACE features education sessions, a product exhibition hall and a static aircraft display. Education sessions include a Safety Standdown on Aug. 11, crew resource management sessions on Aug. 12 to 14, and a Business Aviation for Latin America session on Aug.13.
Advance registration is required for some events.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.