Which country had a national airline called Varig?

The airline company Varig was the offspring of the German trade company and airline Condor Syndikat, which provided the initial operational and financial support. It was founded on 7 May 1927, in Porto Alegre, Brazil by Otto Ernst Meyer-Labastille, a German aviator decorated in World War I, who immigrated to Brazil in 1921, aware of how vital air transport was for such a large country. Varig was the first national airline established in Brazil, the name standing for “Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense” (“Rio Grandean Airways”).

Varig gradually expanded its network over the next fifteen years, establishing its first international route in 1942. However, when the USA entered World War 2 in 1941, aviation supplies became scarce and, because it used mostly German equipment and had a German manager-director, Varig faced particular difficulties. For this reason, Varig's first manager-director Otto Ernst Meyer resigned and shareholders decided that the next manager-director had to be a native-born Brazilian. Varig's first employee, Ruben Martin Berta, took on the role in 1943 and remained in post until his death in 1966.

From 1965 until 1990, Varig was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. However, In 2005, Varig went into restructuring, and in 2006 it was split into two companies – Flex Linhas Aéreas, informally known as "old" Varig, heir to the original airline – now defunct, and "new" Varig, a new company, fully integrated with Gol Airlines.