=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2006/12/25/internatio= nal/i141616S93.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, December 25, 2006 (AP) Brazil to Audit Airline Over Travel Woes By STAN LEHMAN, Associated Press Writer (12-25) 14:16 PST SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Getting home for Christmas turned into a nightmare for many air travelers in Brazil and prompted the government to call out the air force. In the aftermath, aviation authorities announced Monday they would audit the country's number one air carrier to find the cause of long delays and overbooked flights that snarled holiday air travel. Angry passengers invaded runways and demanded to be put on planes, and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called in the Brazilian air force to help ferry passengers. The National Agency of Civil Aviation, or ANAC, said in a statement that it will begin an audit of Tam Linhas Aereas SA on Tuesday and monitor ticket sales by all airlines for the New Year's holiday to prevent overbooking Operations at Brazil's major airports were normal Christmas Day, ANAC said, despite more than 140 flight cancellations it blamed on a "readjustment of departure times and the reorganization of the country's air route network." The statement did not elaborate on the audit or the cancellations, and officials were not immediately available to comment on Christmas Day. Brazil's latest air travel woes started Dec. 19 when Sao Paulo's Congonh= as airport — the country's busiest — shut down due to bad weather. The next day Tam airlines grounded six planes because of maintenance problems, causing a "snowball" effect of cancelations and flight delays as long as 24 hours across Brazil — South America's largest country. In a statement on Monday, Tam airlines said that while operations were normal, it was not selling any tickets. Brazil's airports have been plagued by problems since a midair collision between a Gol airlines Boeing 737 and an Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet killed 154 passengers on Sep. 29. It was the country's worst air disaster. After the crash, air traffic controllers began following regulations to the letter in a "work-to-rule" protest to demand better pay and working conditions. On Dec. 5, authorities suspended takeoffs from three major airports for several hours after an air control system failed, prompting an unprecedented wave of flight cancellations. -------------------------------= --------------------------------------- Copyright 2006 AP