US embassy cable - 04BRASILIA1542

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001542 
 
SIPDIS 
 
IO/T FOR FRANK OSTRANDER 
MONTREAL FOR USICAO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC, EAIR, Transportation Issues 
SUBJECT: BRAZIL REQUESTS SUPPORT FOR ITS ICAO CANDIDACY 
 
REF: BRASILIA 01485 
 
1.  DURING A JUNE 16 CONVERSATION SEEKING GOB SUPPORT FOR THE 
USG ICAO CANDIDACY (REFTEL), OUR GOB INTERLOCUTORS FORMALLY 
REQUESTED USG SUPPORT FOR THE BRAZIL'S CANDIDACY TO THE ICAO. 
TO MAKE THE CASE FOR THE GOB CANDIDACY TO PART I OF THE ICAO 
COUNCIL, MARCUS DA COSTA RAMALHO OF THE BRAZILIAN FOREIGN 
MINISTRY'S OFFICE OF ECONOMICS FORWARDED THE FOLLOWING NON- 
PAPER. 
 
BEGIN TEXT OF NON-PAPER (ENGLISH-LANGUAGE ORIGINAL): 
 
A.  BRAZIL HAS A NATURAL VOCATION FOR AERONAUTICAL 
ACTIVITIES DUE TO ITS CONTINENTAL DIMENSION AND TO THE 
RELEVANT ROLE ACCOMPLISHED BY AIR TRANSPORT IN THE NATIONAL 
INTEGRATION PROCESS. IT HAS OVER 800 AERONAUTICAL COMPANIES, 
COMPRISING OPERATORS OF REGULAR LINES, NON-SCHEDULED FLIGHTS 
AND SPECIALIZED AIR SERVICES. THEIR FLEETS COMPRISE AROUND 
11,000 AIRCRAFT OF ALL CATEGORIES. 
THE AERONAUTICAL SECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE IN BRAZIL DISPLAYS A 
TOTAL OF 2,435 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AIRPORTS, OF WHICH 29 OPEN 
TO INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC, ALL OF THEM PROJECTED AND 
BUILT BY BRAZILIAN COMPANIES. 
 
B.  THE ACTIVITIES RELATED TO AIR SPACE CONTROL REACH AN 
AREA OF APPROXIMATELY 22 MILLION SQUARE KILOMETERS. IT IS 
ONE OF THE LARGEST ROUTES AND SERVICES STRUCTURES UNDER THE 
JURISDICTION AND/OR RESPONSIBILITY OF A SINGLE COUNTRY. 
EFFECTIVE RADAR COVERAGE IS PROVIDED FOR ALL CONTINENTAL AND 
FOR A PART OF THE OCEANIC ROUTES, DISTRIBUTED AMONG FIVE 
FIR/UTA (FLIGHT INFORMATION REGION / UPPER TRAFFIC AREA), 
SUPPORTED BY THE BRAZILIAN AIR SPACE CONTROL SYSTEM 
(SISCEAB), THROUGH THEIR INTEGRATED CENTERS OF DEFENSE AND 
CONTROL OF AIR TRAFFIC (CINDACTA), AS WELL AS THE MANAUS 
(AMAZON AREA) REGIONAL SERVICE OF FLIGHT PROTECTION (SRPV- 
MN). 
 
C.  BRAZIL HOSTS THE WORLD'S FOURTH LARGEST AIRCRAFT 
MANUFACTURER - EMBRAER - WHOSE CIVIL AVIATION PRODUCTS COVER 
PASSENGER CAPACITIES OF UP TO 110 SEATS. PRODUCTS IN THE 
AREA OF DEFENSE INCLUDE TRAINING, TRANSPORT AND COMBAT 
AIRCRAFT, BESIDES TYPES USED FOR INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE 
AND RECONNAISSANCE TASKS. 
 
D.  BRAZIL HAS KEPT AN ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN ICAO SINCE 
THE CONFERENCE HELD IN 1944, NOT ONLY IN ITS COUNCIL BUT 
ALSO IN THE AERIAL NAVIGATION COMMISSION AND IN NEARLY ALL 
THE PANELS, COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS IN THE 
ORGANIZATIONS' ORBIT. 
 
E.  BRAZIL COMMITTED ITS AIR TRANSPORT MEANS IN MATTERS 
RELATED TO ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION, AND IS THE ONLY SOUTH 
AMERICAN COUNTRY TO TAKE PART IN THE COMMITTEE OF CIVIL 
AVIATION ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION (CAEP). 
 
F.  FINALLY, IT IS WORTH MENTIONING THAT BRAZIL ADOPTED AN 
EFFECTIVE PREVENTION ACTION REGARDING THE OPERATIONAL 
SECURITY OF COMMERCIAL AVIATION, OBTAINING A RATE OF 1.05 
ACCIDENTS FOR EACH MILLION TAKE-OFFS FOR AIRPLANES WITH A 
MAXIMUM TAKE-OFF WEIGHT ABOVE 60,000 POUNDS IN THE LAST NINE 
YEARS. 
 
HRINAK