Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, São Paulo Viracopos) has commenced scheduled services to the towns of Teixeira de Freitas and Feira de Santana in the eastern Brazilian state of Bahia; the first such carrier to do so.
According to Airline Route, the airline began a 3x weekly ATR72 service to Teixeira de Freitas from Belo Horizonte Tancredo Neves on September 29 while a 2x weekly ATR72 service between Salvador International and Feira de Santana launched on September 30.
Brazil is expected to offer BRL1billion (USD452million) in subsidies to local carriers over the course of the next year in a bid to improve connectivity between the country's major hubs and rural airports. With its extensive domestic network encompassing 104 destinations, Azul is widely expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the funds.
