Close to completing its eightieth birthday, the airport by Carlos Prates, in Belo Horizonte, will be permanently closed from this Saturday (1st), when it will cease to be operated by Infraero. The decision was taken during the management of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and maintained by the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT).

Founded in 1944, Carlos Prates is considered a service airport, dedicated to the operation of aviation schools, aircraft maintenance workshops and air taxi companies.

Around 120 small planes —with four to six seats for crew and passengers— are still in its 22 hangars, according to the Voa Prates Association, made up of pilots, businessmen and other professionals who carry out activities at the airfield.

In addition to fearing the end of approximately 500 jobs, the group says that even the future of aircraft is uncertain. According to the association, there is no airport within a radius of one hundred kilometers with the capacity to accommodate such a large number of planes.

Pampulha airport, also in the capital of Minas Gerais, is at full capacity after having received about 15 planes that were in Prates. “It will be the collapse for mining aviation”, says Estevan Velásquez, president of Voa Prates.

Circular issued by Infraero on March 20 confirms that the deadline for demobilization of activities ends this Saturday and communicates that “goods not withdrawn in a timely manner will be considered abandoned, whose possession will remain with the grantor, being able to dispose of them in accordance with the law” .

In the interpretation of the owners, there is a risk that access to the aircraft will be blocked and that they will be incorporated by a possible new airport operator or any institution that will take over the land, whether private or public.

AT Sheet, by telephone, the advisory of the Ministry of Ports and Airports explained that it is making sure that the impasse involving the aircraft is resolved and that there is no intention of preventing takeoffs. The closure is for landings.

In a note, the ministry stated that a “legal instrument being prepared by the National Secretariat of Civil Aviation so that the City Hall of Belo Horizonte can organize the closure of activities, giving time for the hangared aircraft and the services provided to be transferred to other locations appropriately”.

“Over time, current airport operations may be allocated to other airports, such as Pampulha and Confins, in addition to regional airports in the metropolitan area of ​​the capital of Minas Gerais, such as Conselheiro Lafaiete (MG), which is interested in serving aviation”, says the note.

There is, according to the ministry, the intention for Infraero to provide support for the city hall to carry out the necessary management of the site until the complete demobilization and removal of the assets.

Considering the values ​​of the aviation market, the aircraft that are at Carlos Prates are not necessarily expensive. Manufactured by the American company Cessna, most of them cost around R$ 300 thousand. “They are not for very rich people, but for those who work here, these planes are life”, says Velásquez.

Regarding the destination of the airport, the Ministry of Infrastructure informed that the minister Márcio França he even offered the management to the Government of the State of Minas Gerais, but there was no interest.

The government of Minas Gerais sent a note to the report stating that, through the State Secretariat for Infrastructure and Mobility, this week it requested Minister Márcio França that the process of dismantling the Carlos Prates be extended for a period of six months, “so that it would be possible carry out and implement a planning regarding the aerodrome in a more adequate, organized and safe way and with enough time for the reorganization of all those involved”.

The request, according to the government of Minas Gerais, “took into account the complexity of the operation, which involves different actors operating at the airport, as well as the need for adequate planning to minimize social impacts, including possible job losses and non-execution of services already contracted”.

“Despite the efforts undertaken, the Government of Minas respects the decision of the federal government to maintain the demobilization plan and makes itself available to the Municipality of Belo Horizonte and citizens to contribute to the dismantling process, observing the legal limitations”, says the Governor’s note Romeo Zema (Novo).

The City Hall of Belo Horizonte, which according to the ministry should assume management of the land, stated that the “decision to close the airport is up to the federal government” and that it trusts “that this decision will take into account all the air transport logistics, which it is the competence of the Union, considering, including, the other regional equipment”.

The municipality also informed that it “only expressed its interest in receiving the area for social disposal, in case the deactivation decision was taken”.

“The City Hall of Belo Horizonte forwarded this proposal, which has some guidelines, such as expansion of green and leisure areas, installation of cultural equipment, schools and health and also an area for low-income housing, commerce and non-polluting industry”, said the note from the administration of Mayor Fuad Noman (PSD).

In response to criticisms that the installation of a large housing complex on the site would put pedestrians and drivers in the Belo Horizonte ring road region at risk, the city hall explained that the area cannot be fully occupied by housing, as the city’s master plan there are rules that restrict housing density in the area.

“The definitive project for the area, however, will only be contracted after the definitive transfer of the property”, he informed.

Contacted by the report, Infraero did not comment until the publication of this text.