Air TransportBrazilian regional carrier Passaredo has its AOC revoked
The Brazilian airline Passaredo Transportes Aéreos had its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) revoked by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) on Tuesday.
The company is the main operator of the VoePass Group, which also includes MAP Transportes Aéreos and operates in the Amazon.
The AOC was lost after ANAC identified serious and persistent flaws in its operational procedures. Passaredo had already been without flights since March 11, when the agency suspended it due to non-compliance with safety requirements.
According to the authority, there are no further appeals against the decision. The group will also have to pay a fine of approximately US$ 100,000.
“During the course of the assisted operation, ANAC found failures in the execution of mandatory maintenance inspection items, which were neither detected nor corrected by the company’s internal controls – an indication that the company’s supervision system had degraded, compromising its ability to act preventively,” the agency said in a statement.
The assisted operation began after the plane crash that occurred on August 9, 2024, involving one of the company’s ATR 72s.
ANAC also stated that the company managed to correct some problems, but then repeated the inadequate procedure with other aircraft in the fleet. “This scenario supported the conclusion that the company’s SASC had lost its ability to operate,” the agency explained.
Crash and return of aircraft
VoePass’ operations began to deteriorate about a year ago when some ATR turboprops began to be taken out of service due to non-payment of the lease.
However, it was the crash of an ATR 72 that worsened the airline’s problems. The accident killed all 62 people on board the aircraft and was reportedly caused by icy conditions on the flight surfaces and potential failures in the de-icing system, according to preliminary data from CENIPA, which is responsible for the investigation.
After the crash, VoePass began to reduce its flights and fleet until it was suspended. On April 22, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in a Brazilian court.
According to Planespotters, seven ATRs are still associated with the company, but have been parked for months. Two ATR 72s, with registration numbers PR-PDY and PR-PDW, however, were returned to the lessor Abelo in early May.
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Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
