Lessons from Viracopos Airport, Brazil

Marcelo Mota, Director of Operations & COO, Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos S.A., tells of his experiences moving COVID-19 vaccines into Brazil.

Brazil Join the World Logistics Passport

Viracopos International Airport, located in the city of Campinas, state of São Paulo, Brazil, joined the WLP in May 2021. The principal objective behind joining the world’s first loyalty programme for freight forwarders was to promote the airport's Cargo Terminal among countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa through new, more efficient air routes to South America.

Viracopos was chosen as the WLP's air cargo mega-hub in Brazil due to our strategic geographic location in South America, and our importance in the national and international cargo logistics chain. The airport currently receives approximately 40% of the cargo imported to Brazil by air, meaning the need for efficient transportation and reliable

Modern Logistics in Brazil Since Covid-19

In recent months, we have used our expertise, knowledge, and infrastructure to support the movement of vaccines into Brazil. On 20 July 2021, 1 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine landed at Viracopos airport; it took only 17 minutes to unload the coolers, move them into the cargo terminal, and load them onto refrigerated trucks before being dispensed across the state.

The cargo clearance time for this type of activity used to be six days, but a new partnership between Viracopos Airport, the Internal Revenue Service, National Health Surveillance Agency, and Pfizer/BioNTech saw this fall to less than 30 minutes. This type of collaboration sits at the heart of the WLP’s vision, making moving goods and services faster and more efficient trade in Brazil.

As the airport’s Operations Director, I anticipate that the WLP will have a material impact on our business over the coming months. Brazil's import and export cargo activities are forecasted to increase as a result of the gains both in cost reduction and time efficiency and many more benefits offered to the WLP programme’s members.

The WLP also offers Viracopos a critical strategic opportunity to consolidate its position as one of Brazil's main entry and exit points for cargo. The airport's location offers members of the WLP's loyalty programme unrivalled connection with neighboring countries, including Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, and Chile.

Beyond the gains that we anticipate the WLP delivering for Viracopos Airport, the program also facilitates the development of business alliances for greater international economic integration of Brazil and the State of São Paulo. This is all in addition to facilitating the transit of goods and reducing freight costs, which can favor the country’s export sector and boost the national economy. And with the guidance and support of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, existing WLP partners such as DP World and Emirates SkyCargo will be able to play an essential role in advancing Brazil's trade with the world.

We are thrilled to see early signs of the potential of the WLP program, which is expected to further enhance logistics in Brazil by creating opportunities for companies worldwide to improve existing trade routes, develop new ones, and build long-term partnerships.

Marcelo Mota, Director of Operations & COO, Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos S.A.