Brazil mulls open skies during World Cup

[SAO PAULO] Brazil will decide in December whether to open its skies to foreign airlines during the World Cup, the head of the Brazilian tourism agency Embratur said on Tuesday.

Embratur's Flavio Dino acknowledged Brazil's domestic carriers may not have the capacity to meet demand during the month-long competition and said companies that currently operate international flights to and from Brazil could be invited to take up the slack.

Mr Dino said: "We are replanning our air network. We may open the market to companies that just deal internationally." With eight months to go before the tournament, soaring ticket prices have stirred popular outrage, highlighting a legacy of barriers to foreign airlines. Of the more than 100 nations that signed an open skies agreement with the US, Brazil is one of a handful that have not put it into practice.