Azul Linhas Aéreas, Brazil’s third-largest carrier by ASK, announced on 24 November that it will operate 431 additional flights between 12 and 22 February 2026 to meet Carnival demand. The one-off schedule injects 58,600 seats across 92 city-pairs and touches 26 domestic airports.
São Paulo/Congonhas sees the heaviest build-up—190 departures—followed by Salvador (62), Porto Seguro and Ilhéus, underscoring the concentration of Carnival traffic in the Northeast. Aircraft will be sourced by temporarily pulling E195-E2s from lower-yield weekday rotations and extending overnight utilisation.
![Azul adds 431 extra flights for Carnaval 2026, boosting domestic seat capacity 6 %]()
Travel and mobility managers with projects that overlap Carnival week—particularly engineering crews shuttling to shipyards or energy sites—should secure bookings immediately; historic no-show spikes mean penalty clauses may tighten. Azul’s revenue-management team says average fares on Carnival dates are already trending 18 % higher than 2025 levels.
The move also benefits regional airports such as Navegantes, João Pessoa and Aracaju that have struggled with chronic seat shortages during Brazil’s peak leisure season. Local tourism boards expect hotel occupancy to top 95 %. Corporations running relocation programmes should warn assignees of premium-rate accommodation and consider housing allowances for temporary staff.
Azul’s announcement is likely to push rival carriers Gol and LATAM to file their own Carnival extras within days, raising overall domestic capacity by an estimated 9 %. The National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has already signalled it will grant ad-hoc slots provided carriers commit to contingency crews and spare aircraft to mitigate weather-related delays.
São Paulo/Congonhas sees the heaviest build-up—190 departures—followed by Salvador (62), Porto Seguro and Ilhéus, underscoring the concentration of Carnival traffic in the Northeast. Aircraft will be sourced by temporarily pulling E195-E2s from lower-yield weekday rotations and extending overnight utilisation.
Travel and mobility managers with projects that overlap Carnival week—particularly engineering crews shuttling to shipyards or energy sites—should secure bookings immediately; historic no-show spikes mean penalty clauses may tighten. Azul’s revenue-management team says average fares on Carnival dates are already trending 18 % higher than 2025 levels.
The move also benefits regional airports such as Navegantes, João Pessoa and Aracaju that have struggled with chronic seat shortages during Brazil’s peak leisure season. Local tourism boards expect hotel occupancy to top 95 %. Corporations running relocation programmes should warn assignees of premium-rate accommodation and consider housing allowances for temporary staff.
Azul’s announcement is likely to push rival carriers Gol and LATAM to file their own Carnival extras within days, raising overall domestic capacity by an estimated 9 %. The National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has already signalled it will grant ad-hoc slots provided carriers commit to contingency crews and spare aircraft to mitigate weather-related delays.
