Deal activity that could reshuffle Brazil’s airport landscape accelerated on 5 November as sources told Reuters that Mexico’s Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (Asur) is the leading bidder for Motiva Infraestrutura de Mobilidade’s airport assets. Motiva—formerly infrastructure giant CCR—put the portfolio on the block earlier this year to refocus on toll roads. Asur’s offer of about R$5 billion (US$925 million), excluding debt, has outpaced bids from Spain’s Aena and Argentina’s Corporación América Airports, the sources said.
The package includes 17 Brazilian regional airports plus Motiva’s stakes in hubs in Quito, San José and Curaçao. Combined, the assets handled roughly 45 million passengers in 2024, giving any buyer an instant double-digit share of Brazil’s domestic market. A sale agreement is expected before year-end.
![Mexican airport operator Asur emerges as front-runner to buy Brazil’s 17-airport Motiva portfolio]()
Implications for mobility: new ownership typically brings capital injections that improve terminal capacity, route development and passenger services—key pain points for business travellers who rely on efficient domestic connectivity after long-haul arrivals into São Paulo or Rio. Asur already operates Cancún and other high-volume Mexican gateways and is known for leveraging duty-free retail revenues to modernise facilities without steep fee hikes, a model Brazilian carriers hope will stimulate, not stifle, growth.
However, labour unions fear job cuts, and route-planning teams worry that a foreign operator could push aeronautical fees higher to recoup the purchase price. Mobility managers should monitor concession-contract revisions and be ready to advise travellers on changes to security screening, lounge access and regional flight schedules if Asur takes control.
Strategically, Brazil’s airport divestment aligns with a broader Latin American trend of shifting publicly held infrastructure into private-sector hands—often attracting multinational expatriate expertise. The deal could open new assignment opportunities for Spanish- and English-speaking specialists in operations, IT and retail, and may trigger fresh demand for temporary housing around regional capitals such as Recife, Goiânia and Curitiba.
The package includes 17 Brazilian regional airports plus Motiva’s stakes in hubs in Quito, San José and Curaçao. Combined, the assets handled roughly 45 million passengers in 2024, giving any buyer an instant double-digit share of Brazil’s domestic market. A sale agreement is expected before year-end.
Implications for mobility: new ownership typically brings capital injections that improve terminal capacity, route development and passenger services—key pain points for business travellers who rely on efficient domestic connectivity after long-haul arrivals into São Paulo or Rio. Asur already operates Cancún and other high-volume Mexican gateways and is known for leveraging duty-free retail revenues to modernise facilities without steep fee hikes, a model Brazilian carriers hope will stimulate, not stifle, growth.
However, labour unions fear job cuts, and route-planning teams worry that a foreign operator could push aeronautical fees higher to recoup the purchase price. Mobility managers should monitor concession-contract revisions and be ready to advise travellers on changes to security screening, lounge access and regional flight schedules if Asur takes control.
Strategically, Brazil’s airport divestment aligns with a broader Latin American trend of shifting publicly held infrastructure into private-sector hands—often attracting multinational expatriate expertise. The deal could open new assignment opportunities for Spanish- and English-speaking specialists in operations, IT and retail, and may trigger fresh demand for temporary housing around regional capitals such as Recife, Goiânia and Curitiba.
