Brazil to reduce congestion at Congonhas airport

BRASILIA (AFP) - Brazil's government yesterday announced measures aimed at reducing congestion at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, the scene of the country's worst air disaster earlier this week.

The decision follows widespread criticism not only of security conditions at the airport but also in Brazil's airways as a whole.

Tuesday's fiery crash of a TAM Airlines 320 that killed about 200 people was the second major air disaster in Brazil in 10 months.

The National Civil Aviation Council announced new measures aimed at reducing air traffic at Congonhas airport, by sending some flights to other airports in the area and barring the use of the airport as a stopover.

Located just a few kilometers (miles) from the center of Sao Paulo, the airport is the busiest in Brazil, handling an average of 630 flights a day.

Critics also say its main runway is comparatively short and gets excessively slick when wet.