Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais was a regional airline which operated scheduled passenger services in northeast and southeast Brazil. Its main base was Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport, Salvador.
In 1975, the Brazilian Federal Government created the Brazilian Integrated System of Regional Air Transportation and divided the country in five different regions, for which five newly created regional airlines received a concession to operate air services. Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais S/A was the second of those regional airlines to be made operational. Its services started in 1976 and its operational area comprised roughly the Northeast and parts of the Southeast regions of Brazil. Originally Nordeste was formed by the Bahia state government which provided two-thirds of the start-up capital and Transbrasil which provided one-third. In 1995 Nordeste was bought and incorporated by Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais. Between 2006 and 2008, Viação Aérea Rio-grandense (informally known as old Varig) used the brand Nordeste Linhas Aéreas for its operations.
Source: Wikipedia