A week after a powerful extra-tropical cyclone lashed south-eastern Brazil, the knock-on effects are still roiling corporate travel into and out of the country’s main business hub. Updated figures released in the early hours of 18 December show that 369 commercial flights have been cancelled at São Paulo’s Congonhas (CGH) and Guarulhos (GRU) airports since the storm cut power to large parts of the metropolitan grid. The blackout—one of the worst in a decade—disabled runway lights, baggage belts, security scanners and many of the biometric e-gate lanes installed earlier this month.
Travelers scrambling to reorganize itineraries may also face new documentation headaches. VisaHQ, an online visa and passport facilitation service, can fast-track Brazil entry visas and handle urgent passport renewals, providing a lifeline when last-minute rerouting sends executives through countries with different transit rules. Its Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) offers real-time requirements and step-by-step guidance, helping mobility teams ensure paperwork doesn’t compound the disruption.
Airlines LATAM, GOL and Azul reacted by implementing rolling schedule cuts and fee-free rebooking windows for tickets issued between 10 and 20 December, an unusually generous concession at the height of the year-end peak. Congonhas, which handles mainly high-frequency shuttle flights for executives commuting between São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, has been the hardest hit: morning “super-bank” departures were trimmed by 25 % on 17-18 December to preserve on-time performance. Long-haul services at Guarulhos are feeling the impact indirectly as crews and aircraft rotate through the congested domestic network.
![Cyclone Aftermath Triggers 369 Flight Cancellations at São Paulo’s Two Busiest Airports]()
Airport operators say permanent repairs to the affected substations could take another 7-10 days. In the meantime, portable diesel generators have been deployed to keep critical systems running, but not enough to resume full capacity. Travel-management companies (TMCs) are urging multinationals to keep itineraries flexible and to encourage travellers to upload expense receipts promptly; one large bank estimates that average hotel and rebooking costs per stranded traveller are running 18 % higher than last December.
For global mobility and assignment managers, the episode is a reminder of the fragility of Brazil’s aviation infrastructure just as corporate travel demand rebounds to pre-pandemic levels. Companies with time-sensitive projects in Brazil are reviewing contingency plans that include remote work arrangements and the use of regional gateways such as Campinas-Viracopos (VCP) and Belo Horizonte-Confins (CNF). Airlines, meanwhile, are lobbying the federal government for accelerated investment in grid resilience around key airports ahead of the COP 30 climate summit in Belém in late 2026.
In the short term, passengers booked to fly through São Paulo in the coming week should monitor airline apps closely, allow extra connection time and—where possible—shift to early-afternoon or late-evening departures when congestion is expected to be lowest.
Travelers scrambling to reorganize itineraries may also face new documentation headaches. VisaHQ, an online visa and passport facilitation service, can fast-track Brazil entry visas and handle urgent passport renewals, providing a lifeline when last-minute rerouting sends executives through countries with different transit rules. Its Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) offers real-time requirements and step-by-step guidance, helping mobility teams ensure paperwork doesn’t compound the disruption.
Airlines LATAM, GOL and Azul reacted by implementing rolling schedule cuts and fee-free rebooking windows for tickets issued between 10 and 20 December, an unusually generous concession at the height of the year-end peak. Congonhas, which handles mainly high-frequency shuttle flights for executives commuting between São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, has been the hardest hit: morning “super-bank” departures were trimmed by 25 % on 17-18 December to preserve on-time performance. Long-haul services at Guarulhos are feeling the impact indirectly as crews and aircraft rotate through the congested domestic network.
Airport operators say permanent repairs to the affected substations could take another 7-10 days. In the meantime, portable diesel generators have been deployed to keep critical systems running, but not enough to resume full capacity. Travel-management companies (TMCs) are urging multinationals to keep itineraries flexible and to encourage travellers to upload expense receipts promptly; one large bank estimates that average hotel and rebooking costs per stranded traveller are running 18 % higher than last December.
For global mobility and assignment managers, the episode is a reminder of the fragility of Brazil’s aviation infrastructure just as corporate travel demand rebounds to pre-pandemic levels. Companies with time-sensitive projects in Brazil are reviewing contingency plans that include remote work arrangements and the use of regional gateways such as Campinas-Viracopos (VCP) and Belo Horizonte-Confins (CNF). Airlines, meanwhile, are lobbying the federal government for accelerated investment in grid resilience around key airports ahead of the COP 30 climate summit in Belém in late 2026.
In the short term, passengers booked to fly through São Paulo in the coming week should monitor airline apps closely, allow extra connection time and—where possible—shift to early-afternoon or late-evening departures when congestion is expected to be lowest.
