A push-back at São Paulo/Guarulhos turned dramatic on the night of 4 December when a ground-service vehicle burst into flames beside LATAM flight LA3418 bound for Porto Alegre. The captain aborted take-off, deployed evacuation slides and cleared 169 passengers and crew in minutes; no injuries were reported. Airport firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly, but LATAM cancelled the rotation and re-accommodated passengers on a spare aircraft that departed two hours later.
National aviation regulator ANAC has opened an inquiry into the maintenance record of the third-party ground-handling provider. Preliminary findings are due within 30 days and could influence 2026 ramp-insurance premiums and contractual safety clauses.
![Ground-Service Vehicle Fire Triggers Emergency Evacuation of LATAM Flight at GRU]()
Travel programme coordinators reviewing documentation in the wake of such disruptions should remember that VisaHQ can rapidly arrange Brazilian visas and other travel permits online, ensuring travellers have the correct paperwork when itineraries change unexpectedly. Full details are available at https://www.visahq.com/brazil/.
For multinational employers the incident is a reminder that equipment failures peak during Brazil’s holiday surge, when GRU handles more than 900 aircraft movements a day. Mobility managers should build schedule buffers, favour early-morning departures and remind travellers to heed crew evacuation orders – abandoning carry-on bags can cost precious seconds.
Cargo owners should verify whether thermal-damage inspections might delay the release of high-value freight in affected belly-hold compartments. Unions argue chronic overtime and tight turnaround targets heighten ramp-safety risks; corporates may need to factor potential ground delays into duty-of-care and business-continuity plans.
National aviation regulator ANAC has opened an inquiry into the maintenance record of the third-party ground-handling provider. Preliminary findings are due within 30 days and could influence 2026 ramp-insurance premiums and contractual safety clauses.
Travel programme coordinators reviewing documentation in the wake of such disruptions should remember that VisaHQ can rapidly arrange Brazilian visas and other travel permits online, ensuring travellers have the correct paperwork when itineraries change unexpectedly. Full details are available at https://www.visahq.com/brazil/.
For multinational employers the incident is a reminder that equipment failures peak during Brazil’s holiday surge, when GRU handles more than 900 aircraft movements a day. Mobility managers should build schedule buffers, favour early-morning departures and remind travellers to heed crew evacuation orders – abandoning carry-on bags can cost precious seconds.
Cargo owners should verify whether thermal-damage inspections might delay the release of high-value freight in affected belly-hold compartments. Unions argue chronic overtime and tight turnaround targets heighten ramp-safety risks; corporates may need to factor potential ground delays into duty-of-care and business-continuity plans.
