Brazil plans more stable rules for airlines-report

SAO PAULO, July 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's government is considering reformulating rules for airlines that would allow them to operate indefinitely and ease access to credit, as well as more than double foreign participation in the industry, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

The Defense Ministry is spearheading the plan, which consists in a reformulation of articles contained in the Brazilian Aerospace Code, Valor Economico newspaper reported, citing government and industry officials.

The plan may encompass boosting the limit of foreign participation in local airline operators to a maximum 49 percent from 20 percent of voting shares and extending permits indefinitely, which should translate into a more stable environment for investment and credit in the sector, Fernando Soares, head of civil aviation at the ministry, told Valor.

According to Soares, an operator's license could be scrapped if failures in security and a decline in service quality were proved, Valor said. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)