Rio-Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais S/A was a regional airline headquartered in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

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 ...

,"World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. March 30, 1985
112
" Retrieved on July 23, 2009. operating scheduled services to southern Brazil. Its main base was São Paulo–Congonhas Airport, with hubs at Porto Alegre Airport and Santos Dumont Airport.

History

On November 11, 1975, the Brazilian Federal Government created the Brazilian Integrated System of Regional Air Transportation and divided the country into five different regions, for which five newly created regional airlines received a concession to operate air services. Rio Sul was the fourth of those regional airlines to be made operational. Founded on August 24, 1976, Rio Sul had its services start on September 8, 1976. Its operational area comprised roughly the Southern and parts of the Southeast regions of Brazil, specifically the states of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, Santa Catarina, Paraná,

, and parts of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, and Espírito Santo. The airline was originally formed by Top Táxi Aéreo, Banco Bradesco, Atlântica-Boavista Insurance, and Varig. In 2002, the administration of Rio Sul (which included its former subsidiary Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais) was merged with Varig. The brand Rio Sul was part of the assets sold as VRG Linhas Aéreas, although its debts remained under the judicial entity Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense, which uses the brand name Flex Linhas Aéreas. As a result of accumulated debts of around BRL10 billion (US$5,7 billion, EUR4,5 billion), on August 20, 2010, at the request of the administrator, the 1st Business Court of Rio de Janeiro declared Flex, which included the remaining assets of Rio-Sul, bankrupt and initiated the process of liquidation.

Services

Rio Sul operated services to the following scheduled domestic destinations (in January 2005): Caxias do Sul,

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, Brasília, Londrina,

Maringá Maringá () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in southern Brazil founded on 10 May 1947 as a planned urban area. It is the third largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, with 385,753 inhabitants in the city proper, and 76 ...

, Passo Fundo,

and Vitória.

Fleet

Rio Sul consisted of the following aircraft:

Incidents and accidents

According to the Aviation Safety Network's database, Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais has never experienced a fatal accident in its 26-year-history, though four hull-losses have occurred: * On May 22, 1982, an Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (registration PT-GKC) crashed into a mangrove swamp short of Hercílio Luz International Airport, due to poor visibility. All four people on board survived. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off. * On August 6, 1984, a Fokker F27 Friendship (registration PT-LCZ) over shot the runway at Santos Dumont Airport. All seven occupants survived, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off. * On July 25, 1987, an Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (registration PT-GKT) overshot the runway at Santo Angelo Airport. All 13 passengers and crew survived, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off. * On December 29, 1998, Rio Sul Flight 310, an Embraer ERJ-145 (registration PT-SPE), was damaged beyond repair when it made a hard landing at Afonso Pena International Airport. All 40 passengers and crew on board survived. Investigators determined that engine power had been reduced just before landing. The aircraft was written off. * On December 17, 2001, a Boeing 737-500 (registration PT-SSI) operating a scheduled passenger flight from

undershot runway 16 at Tancredo Neves International Airport by as a result of adverse weather conditions. There were no fatalities. Despite substantial damage, the aircraft was repaired and returned to service. However, nearly 12 years later, the same aircraft would crash in Russia, killing everyone on board.

References

Bibliography

External links

Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos RegionaisArchive
(1998–2000)

(1997)
Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais

Archive
(1998–2000)

(1997) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Sul Servicos Aereos Regionais Varig Defunct airlines of Brazil Airlines established in 1976 Airlines disestablished in 2006 1976 establishments in Brazil Former Star Alliance affiliate members