Brazil’s health-regulator Anvisa hosted an international “table-top” simulation on 10 November 2025 to stress-test its ability to detect and contain cross-border health threats at airports and seaports. The two-day exercise, organised with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), brought together officials from the ministries of Health, Justice (Federal Police) and Ports & Airports, as well as airport concessionaires from Brasília, São Paulo and Rio.
Scenarios ranged from a passenger arriving from West Africa with haemorrhagic-fever symptoms to a cruise ship docking in Santos with suspected influenza outbreaks. Mobile triage units, thermal scanners and quarantine rooms were deployed in real time, while immigration officers practised new data-sharing protocols that allow health flags to appear automatically on passport readers.
![Anvisa Runs Full-Scale Airport Drill to Test Pandemic Readiness Ahead of Holiday Peak]()
The drill comes weeks before the southern-summer travel rush, when daily international arrivals are expected to surpass pre-pandemic records. Lessons learnt will feed into updated sanitary guidelines that Anvisa plans to publish by early December, including revised aircraft-disinsection rules and a streamlined “Traveler Health Declaration” app that replaces paper forms.
For corporate travel and assignment managers, the exercise signals continued vigilance: expect random temperature checks at major gateways and be prepared to show proof of yellow-fever and Covid-19 vaccination if travelling from designated risk zones. Companies moving large groups should build extra time into arrival schedules and monitor Anvisa bulletins for any real-world activation of the protocols tested this week.
Anvisa officials stressed that no immediate travel restrictions are anticipated, but reminded carriers that failure to submit advance passenger information within prescribed timelines could trigger fines of up to R$ 25,000 under Brazil’s sanitary code.
Scenarios ranged from a passenger arriving from West Africa with haemorrhagic-fever symptoms to a cruise ship docking in Santos with suspected influenza outbreaks. Mobile triage units, thermal scanners and quarantine rooms were deployed in real time, while immigration officers practised new data-sharing protocols that allow health flags to appear automatically on passport readers.
The drill comes weeks before the southern-summer travel rush, when daily international arrivals are expected to surpass pre-pandemic records. Lessons learnt will feed into updated sanitary guidelines that Anvisa plans to publish by early December, including revised aircraft-disinsection rules and a streamlined “Traveler Health Declaration” app that replaces paper forms.
For corporate travel and assignment managers, the exercise signals continued vigilance: expect random temperature checks at major gateways and be prepared to show proof of yellow-fever and Covid-19 vaccination if travelling from designated risk zones. Companies moving large groups should build extra time into arrival schedules and monitor Anvisa bulletins for any real-world activation of the protocols tested this week.
Anvisa officials stressed that no immediate travel restrictions are anticipated, but reminded carriers that failure to submit advance passenger information within prescribed timelines could trigger fines of up to R$ 25,000 under Brazil’s sanitary code.
