Manaus Aerotáxi is a non-scheduled airline and

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

company headquartered in

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, specializing in

charter flights Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

and

air medical services Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during Medical evacuation, aerome ...

certified by the National Civil Aviation Agency ( ANAC) under the Brazilian Civil Aviation Regulations (RBAC) No. 135. Founded in 1998, the company has contracts with the Brazilian Ministry of Defense to transport passengers, cargo and

medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters an ...

to serve riverside communities in the Legal Amazon region.

History

Establishment

Manaus Aerotáxi was founded in April 1998 by pilot Marcos J. Pacheco, focused on transporting passengers and cargo through the interior of Amazonas, where several cities and communities are inaccessible by land, being possible only through the waterway or air, the latter considered an essential service. In 2009, the airline was certified by ANAC to provide

MAP Linhas Aéreas

On May 18, 2011, Manaus Aerotáxi founded MAP Linhas Aéreas, a

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

focused on regular air transport of passengers and cargo in the Brazilian Amazon region. MAP's name is the acronym for Manaus Aerotáxi Participações, the corporate name of its parent company. Subsequently, the two companies became part of the economic group MAP Aviação

Eduardo Gomes International Airport Manaus–Eduardo Gomes International Airport is an international airport serving Manaus, Brazil. On 11 December 1973, while still under construction, the name of the facility was changed from ''Supersonic Airport of Manaus'' (owing to its desig ...

, in

, the airline's headquarters. On October 1, 2014, Manaus Aerotáxi became a contractor for the Brazilian Ministry of Defense, leasing four turboprops aircraft to transport cargo of interest to the Regional Works Commission of the 12th Military Region, linked to the

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

, based in

. On August 21, 2019, the economic group MAP Aviação, which controls Manaus Aerotáxi, and MAP Linhas Aéreas, announced the sale of 100% of its shareholding in the regional airline MAP to Passaredo Linhas Aéreas, which on the same day announced its rebranding to VOEPASS Linhas Aéreas.

New visual identity

As of September 2020, Manaus Aerotáxi started to adopt a new visual identity on its aircraft, in the colors blue, white and gray, replacing the green color previously used. The first plane to receive the new livery was the

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...

registration PR-MNS ( 208B2065), on September 14, 2020. The airline's logo was also updated, becoming blue and gray, accompanied by the slogan ''"Da Amazônia para o Brasil"'' (From the Amazon to Brazil, in English).

Aviation services

In addition to non-scheduled and air taxi flights, Manaus Aerotáxi also offers

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down, and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction ...

(FBO) aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, handling, tie-down, parking and aircraft maintenance both in its hangar at

, in

, and also located at Val-de-Cans/Júlio Cezar Ribeiro International Airport, in

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

, providing support services to general aviation operators at a public-use airport.

Fleet

Current fleet

As of April 2024 the fleet of Manaus Aerotáxi included the following aircraft:

Former fleet

Manaus Aerotáxi formerly operated the following aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

* On February 7, 2009, the Embraer EMB 110P1 Bandeirante registration PT-SEA, operating an

flight between

Coari Coari (''Choary'') is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Geography The municipal seat of Coari is one of the largest cities of the Amazonas state. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Coari. The area has r ...

and

with 26 passengers and 2 crew, disappeared from radars 20 minutes before landing. The wreckage of the plane was later located by

Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...

(FAB) search and rescue teams in the

Manacapuru River Manacapuru River is a river of Amazonas state in north-western Brazil. It flows into the Amazon River ( Solimões section) at the city of Manacapuru, about upstream (west) from Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Br ...

, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the Amazonian capital. The two crew and 22 of the 26 passengers on board died. * On September 16, 2023, during the beginning of the fishing season in the Amazon, the Embraer EMB 110P1 Bandeirante registration PT-SOG, operating a

charter flight Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

carrying two crew members and 12 tourists from different regions of Brazil between

and Barcelos for sport and recreational fishing in the Rio Negro, crashed during a failed go-around attempt in heavy rain at Barcelos Airport. All 14 passengers and crew died.

References

External links

Manaus Aerotáxi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manaus Aerotaxi Airlines of Brazil Airlines established in 1998 1998 establishments in Brazil Manaus