Brasilia airport: re-concession will follow Rio Galeão's, but with smaller airports part of the deal

The Brazilian airport concession programme, jointly with Japan's the longest running in the world at 15 years as at 2026, has recently reactivated following a period of governmental introspection brought about by the return to power of the socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during which some remaining concessions and re-concessions were put on hold.

The re-concession of Rio de Janeiro's Galeão airport was finally rubber stamped in 2025, and will take place before the end of Mar-2026.

But some analysts in Brazil hold that it is merely a lab experiment to investigate what might happen if other existing concessions were to be re-run.

Why should they be?

Well, hardly any of the original concessionaires are happy with their lot, complaining about bad seller (government) traffic forecasting, excessive financial demands, the persistently wonky economy, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indeed some of the original concessions have already changed hands, and now another one is on the cards - at Brasília, the capital, where the consortium member Inframérica is particularly miffed at the treatment it has received.

The 'JK Airport' there looks likely to be re-concessioned by the end of 2026. As with Rio, the existing concessionaire can re-bid if it wants to, and will undoubtedly be anticipating much better financial terms (as will any other participant).

In this case a large number of small airports are attached to the deal in one of the first examples of the government's AmpliAR scheme, introduced in 2015, which automatically attaches small regional airports to primary airport (re)-concessions, whether the bidders like it or not.

And that could include the Chinese, for the first time.

In most cases they won't, as the two types of airport are chalk and cheese, but that is the new reality.

And one of the smaller airports sums up that reality perfectly - Alto Paraíso, serving a hippy enclave, many of whom believe in extraterrestrial life and spend their time trying to contact it. If they had their way the comet 3I/Atlas would be the first 'craft' to land at the airport under its new owners.

As has often been observed - there is never a dull moment in the Brazilian airport sale Soap Opera.