The (Federal Audit Court) came to the conclusion that FAB () contravened the law by discarding records of authorities and other passengers between the years 2020 and 2023.
“The discarding of boarding lists for flights carried out between 2020 and 2023 contradicted provisions contained in TCU Normative Instruction 84/2020 and Law 8,159, related to the preservation of public documents”, says a decision from last Wednesday (15).
The audit that supported the decision identifies a series of irregularities and opportunities for improvement in the management of transport by authorities. The , in turn, determines that both the federal government and the FAB implement changes in this area.
The Brazilian Air Force and the Civil House were contacted through their press offices around midday this Friday (17), but have not yet responded.
In addition to the irregular disposal of lists, the TCU identified an omission in checking passenger admission requirements, pointing out that the FAB acted as a “mere executor” of authorities’ demands, without checking whether transport would follow legal requirements.
Also according to the TCU, the Air Force maintained lists with incomplete names and 801 non-existent CPFs (6% of passengers transported in 2024) and adopted secrecy classifications without legal basis, violating the Access to Information Law.
Finally, the court of accounts criticized the lack of an electronic transport management system for authorities, whose control depends on scattered documents – passenger lists, for example, are filled out manually.
In the ruling published this Wednesday, the TCU determines that the , the Ministry of Defense and the Air Force Command reform within 180 days the rules that govern the transport of authorities by the FAB.
Within this period, the government must establish clear criteria for requesting flights, establishing that new requests show the real need for the use of the FAB and the presence of members of the delegation that will accompany the transported authority.
The new rules must also require identification of passengers, with job description and CPF, and demonstration of the risk to the security of the authority when this argument is used as justification for the flight.
The ruling gives the FAB the responsibility to manage the shared use of aircraft; and finally determines that the Air Force Command creates an electronic system for managing the air transport of authorities, concentrating all information related to flights.
The Union could save R$81 million per year using commercial aviation, audit estimates
The audit that supported the recently published ruling points out that the Union could save around R$81.6 million per year if it opted entirely to transport its authorities on commercial flights.
This is because a third of flights occur between destinations well served by the cheapest commercial aviation – São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília – and the idle rate is high.
The TCU’s technical area estimated values taking into account the total cost spreadsheet provided by the Air Force (which did not discriminate transport expenses with authorities) and the average value of commercial air tickets.
“The substantially higher cost requires formal and clear justification that justifies the use of official aviation to the detriment of commercial aviation”, says the audit report.
“Except for cases in which resource savings cannot be met, in situations of effective risk to the authority, to be duly motivated and demonstrated; or for emergencies, commercial aviation must be used.”
