Major carriers TAM, GOL and American Airlines cancelled a combined 108 flights on 18-19 December, throwing Christmas travel plans into disarray at São Paulo’s Congonhas and Guarulhos airports as well as hubs in Salvador, Belo Horizonte and Recife. Domestic connectors to Rio de Janeiro, Porto Seguro and Brasília bore the brunt, but international routes to Boston and New York were also hit.
The disruptions began when residual power-grid issues and thunder-storm cells forced congestion-management ground stops at Congonhas, cascading into crew-duty-time violations and equipment shortages system-wide. Airport slot managers authorised ad-hoc swaps, yet by Friday afternoon TAM alone had pulled 32 departures.
![Over 100 flights scrapped across Brazil in 48 hours as weather and crew shortages bite]()
Passengers flooded social-media channels with complaints of minimal notice and long rebooking lines. Under ANAC Resolution 400, airlines must offer meals and lodging once delays exceed four hours, but consumer-protection body Procon says compliance was “patchy”. Travel managers are advising employees to preserve boarding passes and receipts as proof for reimbursement claims.
If disrupted itineraries force a detour through a country that normally wasn’t on your route, you may suddenly need transit or short-stay documentation. VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) can fast-track those emergency visa requests, provide up-to-the-minute entry-rule guidance, and manage courier services for passport renewals—helping both individual travelers and corporate travel desks get back in the air sooner.
Analysts warn that further rolling cancellations are likely until spare-crew rosters reset after 25 December. Companies with time-sensitive cargo or project teams in transit should explore routings via Brasília or even Buenos Aires and build buffer days into itineraries.
The disruptions began when residual power-grid issues and thunder-storm cells forced congestion-management ground stops at Congonhas, cascading into crew-duty-time violations and equipment shortages system-wide. Airport slot managers authorised ad-hoc swaps, yet by Friday afternoon TAM alone had pulled 32 departures.
Passengers flooded social-media channels with complaints of minimal notice and long rebooking lines. Under ANAC Resolution 400, airlines must offer meals and lodging once delays exceed four hours, but consumer-protection body Procon says compliance was “patchy”. Travel managers are advising employees to preserve boarding passes and receipts as proof for reimbursement claims.
If disrupted itineraries force a detour through a country that normally wasn’t on your route, you may suddenly need transit or short-stay documentation. VisaHQ’s Brazil portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) can fast-track those emergency visa requests, provide up-to-the-minute entry-rule guidance, and manage courier services for passport renewals—helping both individual travelers and corporate travel desks get back in the air sooner.
Analysts warn that further rolling cancellations are likely until spare-crew rosters reset after 25 December. Companies with time-sensitive cargo or project teams in transit should explore routings via Brasília or even Buenos Aires and build buffer days into itineraries.
