Domestic air market grows 1.7% in 2019 compared to 2018

The domestic air market grew in 2019 for the third year in a row, but still records lower numbers than in the pre-economic crisis period, data from the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) indicate. Last year, airlines carried 95.3 million passengers paid on domestic flights, i.e. within the country. This number is 1.7% higher than in 2018 (93.6 million). Last year's result, however, is lower than in 2014, when 95.9 million passengers were paid, and that in 2015, when the number of passengers transported reached 96.2 million, the largest in anac's historical series. The year 2019 was marked by the suspension of Avianca's activities in Brazil, which at the time was among the four largest airlines in the country. Avianca goes through a lawsuit. It also generated an impact on the airline sector to rise in the dollar last year – part of the costs in this market are tied to the U.S. currency. According to Anac, airline seat supply for domestic flights fell 1% last year. Added together, these factors pressed the price of tickets, which recorded a high in 2019. Demand for domestic flights, Anac reports, grew 0.8%. And the occupancy rate of aircraft stood at 82.7%. International flights Brazilian companies last year transported 9.1 million passengers paid on international flights (originating or destination abroad). This number is 2.6% lower than that recorded in 2018.