 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | May 18, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-05-18) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | March 4, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-03-04) | ||||||
| AOC # | 8,601 – July 15, 2022[1] | ||||||
| Operating bases | Eduardo Gomes International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 3 | ||||||
| Parent company | Voepass Linhas Aéreas | ||||||
| Headquarters | Manaus, Brazil | ||||||
| Founder | Marcos J. Pacheco | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
| Notes | |||||||
In March of 2025, operations were suspended. | |||||||
MAP Linhas Aéreas is an inoperative Brazilian domesticairline headquartered inManaus,Amazonas, founded in 2011 and authorized to operate regular and non-regular charter flights within Brazil.[2] According to theNational Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), between January and December 2023, carried 117,912 passengers and had 0.1% of the domesticmarket share, revenue passenger kilometers (RPK),[3] making it 5th largest airline inBrazil.
Founded inManaus, Brazil, on May 18, 2011, the name of MAP Linhas Aéreas is the acronym of the first letters of the name of its founding company,ManausAerotáxiParticipações, an air taxi and non-scheduled airline based atEduardo Gomes International Airport. The airline was founded due to the lack of air connectivity in the Brazilian Amazon region, where air transport plays an important role in connecting small cities to urban centers.
MAP Linhas Aéreas received itsair operator's certificate (CHETA, in Portuguese) from the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) on August 14, 2012 for regular operations.[4][5] That same year, it received its first threeATR 42-300 turboprop aircraft, registrations PR-MPN (MSN 020), PR-MPO (MSN 091) and PR-TTF (MSN 021), all acquired fromTRIP Linhas Aéreas.[6][7] With the exception of the first two, the last one received never went into operation, serving as a source of spare parts to keep the other two active.
On March 4, 2013, connectedManaus withParintins andLábrea, inAmazonas. In the third quarter of 2013, MAP added twoATR 72-200s to the fleet, ending the year with four aircraft.
In the first half of 2014, the airline began its regional expansion, starting flights toCarauari, inAmazonas and later, on August 11, toSantarém,Itaituba,Altamira andBelém, in Pará.[8] It also adds a third ATR 72-200 to the fleet, through a commercial agreement signed with STAR Consultoria Aeronáutica, owner of the plane registration PP-STY (MSN 367).[9]
On March 30, 2015, began flights toPorto Velho,Rondônia, followed byManicoré,Humaitá,Barcelos,Coari,Eirunepé,São Gabriel da Cachoeira andTefé.[10] The following year, it addedPorto Trombetas andTabatinga to its network of Amazonian destinations.
On October 9, 2016, presented a visual identity and aircraft livery, with the aim of displaying a more Amazonian tone, in line with its operations.[11] The main change was in the tail of the planes, which instead of displaying the company's logo, started to adopt a design that incorporates elements from theNorth Region, including buildings such as theAmazon Theatre and theVer-o-Peso Market, in addition to the flora, the fauna, cuisine and rivers of the Amazon.[12]
On April 5, 2017, started of the so-called"Rota da Soja" (Soy Route) in June, flying toSorriso andAlta Floresta, inMato Grosso.[13][14] Due technical and logistical reasons, flights were not started.[15] In mid-September, it announced a destination and fleet expansion plan for 2018, considering launching flights to several destinations in theNortheast Region, in addition to international flights inSouth America, in neighboring countries in the North of Brazil.
On December 18, 2017, received the IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certification, the most important safety and quality certificate in aviation.[16][17]
On February 14, 2019, received its thirdATR-72 aircraft, registration PR-MPW (MSN 682), announcing its expansion plan by increasing the frequency of flights to existing destinations and expressing its intention to fly to its first international destination, the city ofPuerto Maldonado, inPeru.[18]
On July 27, 2019, after the bankruptcy ofAvianca Brasil, the main Brazilian airlines began a dispute to obtain the valuableslots (landing and take-off times) left by it atCongonhas Airport, located in the heart of the city ofSão Paulo, thesecond largest busiest airport in Brazil by passengers number. MAP expressed its interest in obtaining them and entered the dispute againstAzul Brazilian Airlines,GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes,LATAM Airlines,TwoFlex (nowAzul Conecta) andPassaredo Linhas Aéreas (nowVOEPASS Linhas Aéreas) for the 41 slots in Congonhas.[19][20]
On August 1, 2019,ANAC completed the provisional distribution process of Avianca Brasil's 41 daily departure and arrival times (slots) to operate on the main runway at Congonhas Airport, in São Paulo, with MAP obtaining 12 of them, behind Azul (15 slots) and Passaredo (14 slots).[21][22]
On August 21, 2019, targeting the slots inSão Paulo Congonhas Airport,Passaredo Linhas Aéreas (VOEPASS Linhas Aéreas) announced the acquisition of 100% control of MAP Linhas Aéreas, jointly holding 26 pairs of slots. Despite the acquisition, the airlines would continue to coexist.[23][24][25] In September, together, they started flights from Congonhas toRibeirão Preto,Bauru,Marília andAraçatuba, inSão Paulo,Dourados, inMato Grosso do Sul,Uberaba, inMinas Gerais andMacaé, inRio de Janeiro.[26]
On March 18, 2020, due to the outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic, MAP Linhas Aéreas suspended all its commercial flights with immediate effect, at least until March 22, when it planned to resume flights.[27] However, two days later, on March 20, he announced that the suspension would be indefinite, maintaining only its chartered flights forPetrobras.[28] After three months of suspension, on July 3, 2020, MAP Linhas Aéreas resumed its flights to 10 cities in the Amazon region, whose air transport is considered essential due to the lack of access by land.[29][30]
On June 8, 2021, aiming to expand its presence atCongonhas Airport and reinforce operations in the interior of the Amazon,GOL Linhas Aéreas formalized an agreement withVOEPASS Linhas Aéreas for the acquisition of MAP Linhas Aéreas for R$28 million (US$5.6 million), in addition to assuming the airline's financial commitments, at the time valued at R$100 million (US$20.1 million), subject to government approval.[31]
On January 3, 2022, Brazil's national competition regulator CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) approved without restrictions the acquisition of MAP by GOL Linhas Aéreas. At the time, according to the president of GOL, Paulo Kakinoff, MAP Linhas Aéreas would be absolved by GOL Linhas Aéreas and the brand would cease to exist.[32][33][34]
On April 26, 2023, the ew president ofGOL Linhas Aéreas, Celso Guimarães Ferrer, informed that the acquisition had not been completed, the reason was a new decree published by the Brazilian government at the end of 2022, which allowed airlines could sell their slots, without the need for anM&A (merger and acquisition) transition. Thus, the airline was studying the purchase of slots fromVOEPASS Linhas Aéreas and no longer the operations of MAP Linhas Aéreas.[35][36]
Until April 29, 2024, theair operator's certificate, brand, crew, twoATR 42-500 and oneATR 72-500 turboprops registered in the name of MAP Linhas Aéreas, remained in operation from its base inEduardo Gomes International Airport. The first plane, registration PR-PDP (MSN 581),[37] fulfilled contract no. 5900.0111285.19.2 forPetrobras and flied toCarauari andPorto Urucu.[38] The second, PR-PDS (MSN 561), operated on an interchange basis with VOEPASS[39] carrying out flights in theNortheast Region through a commercial agreement withLATAM Airlines.[40] The third, PR-PDT (MSN 771), is also operating flights forVOEPASS Linhas Aéreas.[41]
On March 11, 2025, theNational Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil suspended all operations of MAP and parent companyVoepass due to management issues.[42] On April 23, 2025, Voepass filed for bankruptcy protection, blaming financial woes caused by LATAM Airlines, reporting about 209.2 million reais ($36.78 million) in debt caused by the Flight 2283 crash.[43]
As of August 2025[update], MAP Linhas Aéreas operates the following aircraft:[44][45]
| Aircraft | Out of service | Orders | Passengers | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | — | 42 | Aircraft abandoned in Manaus | ||
1 | — | — | Aircraft abandoned in Manaus | ||
| TOTAL | 3 | — | |||
Throughout its history, eight turboprops from the Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturerATR had been part of MAP Linhas Aéreas, six of them owned by the airline and two leased that were returned to their owners. TheATR 42-300s turboprops registrations PR-MPN (MSN 020) and PR-MPO (MSN 091) are unairworthy and abandoned on a lawn in front of apron 4 atEduardo Gomes International Airport;[46] the other two, registrations PR-TTF (MSN 021) and PT-MFE (MSN 295), were dismantled and removed from the airport.
TheATR 72-200 registration PR-MPZ (MSN 523), unairworthy, is abandoned and resting on trestles in the hangar ofManaus Aerotáxi inEduardo Gomes International Airport, while the PR-MPY (MSN 519), also unairworthy, is at theVOEPASS Linhas Aéreas maintenance center (MRO) inDr. Leite Lopes Airport.
| Aircraft | Total | Years of operation | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | 2012-2019 | ||||
2012-2017 | |||||
2012-2012 | |||||
2016-2020 | wfu, to be preserved as a hotel | ||||
3 | 2014-2015 | lsd STAR Consultoria Aeronáutica | |||
2013-2019 | |||||
2013-2020 | |||||
1 | 2018-2020 | ret ATRiam Capital | |||
| TOTAL | 8 | ||||
According to data fromThe Aviation Herald andAviation Safety Network, since the beginning of its operations in 2013, MAP Linhas Aéreas has recorded only one accident and one serious incident, but without any serious injuries or fatalities.
