A Federal police officer inspects the Congonhas airport runway in Brazil as a TAM airlines jet prepares for take-off in this July 19 photo. - AP

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday replaced his defense minister responsible for aviation safety after nearly a year of air chaos that intensified following the crash last week of a passenger jet that killednearly 200.

The presidential press office said former Supreme Court President Nelson Jobim will replace Waldir Pires, who had come under withering criticism for nearly a year of air travel havoc.

The air force oversees Brazil's air traffic control system.

The presidential office did not say when Jobim would take over the Defense Ministry, nor did it confirm if Pires resigned or had been sacked.

Brazil's aviation concerns wer after a TAM Linhas Aereas SA jet crashed last week at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport, killing 199 people in the nation's worst air disaster.

Cancellations

Air chaos again gripped Brazil on Wednesday after TAM, the nation's number one airline, cancelled dozens of flights to and from Congonhas, the country's busiest airport, citing safety concerns over heavy rain and the airport's runway.

The cancellations caused a ripple effect nationwide that stranded thousands and sent tempers flaring.

The move by TAM came after the government announced late Tuesday it was temporarily halting ticket purchases for flights at Congonhas.

Officials have closed the 1,939-metre (6,362-foot) main runway at Congonhas, short by modern standards, amid claims it is dangerous when wet.

Investigators probing the July 17 crash need to "complete their inspection (of the runway) to see if it played any role in the disaster," said Ana Carla Mafra, a spokeswoman for Brazil's airport infrastructure authority Infraero.

The rain continued on Wed-nesday, leading TAM to initially cancel 36 flights from Congonhas and divert another 25 domestic flights to Sao Paulo's international airport. On Tuesday, 590 flights were delayed and 298 cancelled nationwide, according to Infraero.

Many passengers said they would wait out delays lasting days, but others gave up.

'A disgrace'

"This is a disgrace," said Marcelo Viera, a chemical plant inspector who showed up five hours early for his flight from Sao Paulo to the northeastern city of Salvador and got stuck at the end ofa line of 300 people. Brazil's air safety system "has been neglected for years, and it's going to take years to fix".

Relatives and friends of the victims gathered at Congonhas Tuesday evening for a religious ceremony to honour the dead at the precise moment that the plane raced off the runway and slammed into a gas station and an air cargo building.

Churches in the southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba - the hometowns of many of the dead - also held memorial Masses.

No ticket sales

Brazil's Aviation Authority announced the temporary suspension of all ticket sales for flights to Congonhas in an effort to reduce the number of delays and cancellations.

The measure was adopted "to ensure that those who have already purchased their tickets will be able to embark," the authority's president, Milton Zuanazzi, said at a news conference.

"Sales will only resume once the situation at Congonhas returns to normal."

The delays also prompted TAM's main Brazilian competitor, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, to recommend that its clients postpone flying until Monday.

"In this period, the company hopes to re-establish the normal flux of air traffic," the company said.

- AP