Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's president, said the South American giant has inadequate airport infrastructure to handle the surge in traffic that will come with the high profile games.
"I was in Sao Paulo yesterday. It's a dramatic problem because the Sao Paulo airport absolutely cannot meet its current needs," he said at a news conference in Bogota.
"With such important projects as the Olympics or the world (football) championship, if the government does not invest quickly, it's going to be a big problem not just for air transport but for the country's image," he said.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said separately Thursday that her government would open the country's network of airport to private investment.
"We are getting prepared for a strong intervention in the airports," she said in an interview with the magazine Valor.