Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão–Tom Jobim International Airport confirmed on 24 October 2025 that eight airlines will add or up-gauge services to the United States, Canada, Portugal, Spain and France between mid-December and 15 January. The network update, published in The Rio Times’ city brief, entails roughly 32,000 additional inbound seats—an 11 percent increase over last year’s holiday capacity.
Highlights include American Airlines upgrading its daily Miami rotation to a B777-300ER (304 seats) and adding three weekly Dallas frequencies; Air Canada restoring the seasonal Toronto nonstop; TAP Air Portugal moving its Lisbon flight to twice-daily A330s; and LATAM deploying A350-1000s on select Madrid and Paris runs. Low-cost newcomer Norse Atlantic will maintain its four-weekly New York services through 10 January instead of withdrawing after New Year’s Eve.
The capacity boost is good news for travel-programme managers grappling with high fares and limited award seats. According to ForwardKeys, average round-trip prices from Rio to North America jumped 18 percent year-on-year in Q3; the extra supply should dampen further spikes. Cargo forwarders also expect relief: the larger wide-body mix will provide approximately 680 tonnes of additional belly-capacity during the electronics-import rush.
Travellers should note that check-in and arrivals for all long-haul flights are now consolidated in Terminal 2 after the permanent mothballing of Terminal 1. Airport operator RIOgaleão advises passengers to arrive three hours before departure and to pre-book rideshares because of ongoing works on the airside connector bridge.
Highlights include American Airlines upgrading its daily Miami rotation to a B777-300ER (304 seats) and adding three weekly Dallas frequencies; Air Canada restoring the seasonal Toronto nonstop; TAP Air Portugal moving its Lisbon flight to twice-daily A330s; and LATAM deploying A350-1000s on select Madrid and Paris runs. Low-cost newcomer Norse Atlantic will maintain its four-weekly New York services through 10 January instead of withdrawing after New Year’s Eve.
The capacity boost is good news for travel-programme managers grappling with high fares and limited award seats. According to ForwardKeys, average round-trip prices from Rio to North America jumped 18 percent year-on-year in Q3; the extra supply should dampen further spikes. Cargo forwarders also expect relief: the larger wide-body mix will provide approximately 680 tonnes of additional belly-capacity during the electronics-import rush.
Travellers should note that check-in and arrivals for all long-haul flights are now consolidated in Terminal 2 after the permanent mothballing of Terminal 1. Airport operator RIOgaleão advises passengers to arrive three hours before departure and to pre-book rideshares because of ongoing works on the airside connector bridge.
