Brazilian air travel is again facing turbulence as a fresh wave of cancellations and delays hits key hubs in Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and São Paulo. On the back of recent operational strains across the country, flights operated by GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, LATAM Brasil and other carriers have been disrupted, stranding passengers, complicating connections and casting uncertainty over upcoming summer and Carnival travel plans. For international visitors and domestic travelers alike, the current situation is a clear reminder that flying within Brazil in February 2026 requires flexibility, patience and careful planning.
A New Round of Disruptions at Brazil’s Busiest Hubs
The latest bout of travel disarray centers on Brazil’s three most critical aviation nodes: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. Together, these cities form the backbone of the country’s domestic network and serve as primary gateways for long haul international traffic. When congestion or cancellations hit one of these hubs, the impact is quickly felt nationwide.
In São Paulo, Guarulhos International, the country’s busiest airport, has been reporting elevated delay rates, with a significant share of departures and arrivals running late. Even when outright cancellations are limited, delays averaging close to two hours on many routes have been common in recent days, creating a cascading effect that disrupts connections to secondary cities and onward international flights.
Rio de Janeiro’s Santos Dumont and Galeão airports, which together handle a high volume of shuttle flights to São Paulo and Brasília, have also experienced a spike in schedule irregularities. When short hop flights between Rio and São Paulo or Brasília are delayed or cancelled, travelers miss critical links to destinations across Brazil and abroad, intensifying frustration at check in counters and customer service desks.
Brasília International Airport, the political capital’s gateway and an important domestic transfer point, has been especially affected by delayed departures and arrivals following a recent job action by aircrew that rippled through tightly scheduled morning banks of flights. Even short disruptions there have a disproportionate impact on the rest of the day’s operations.
GOL, LATAM Brasil and Others Under Pressure
GOL and LATAM Brasil, the two dominant players in Brazil’s domestic sky, have been at the center of the current wave of disruptions. Both rely on dense shuttle networks connecting São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, with aircraft often flying multiple short sectors per day. When one early morning flight departs late or is cancelled, that aircraft’s subsequent rotations are thrown off schedule.
On trunk routes such as Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo and São Paulo to Brasília, travelers have reported multiple GOL and LATAM services departing behind schedule or being removed from departure boards altogether, with some passengers rebooked several hours later or shifted onto competing carriers where seats were available. Given that many of these flights are used by business travelers and government officials, the operational hiccups have drawn considerable attention domestically.
Other airlines have not been immune. Azul, one of Brazil’s largest carriers, as well as international operators such as Iberia, Air Canada and regional low cost entrants, have all seen their schedules affected on certain days as airport congestion, staffing issues and weather combine to slow operations. Even when a particular airline’s own punctuality is solid, it can still be caught in ground handling bottlenecks, slot restrictions and overloaded air traffic control sequences.
For travelers, the airline brand on the ticket has become less important than the specific route, time of day and airport. Early morning and late evening banks of flights, when aircraft, crew and airport resources are stretched thin, have proven particularly vulnerable to disruption.
Knock on Effects from Pilot and Crew Actions
Operational stress on Brazil’s airline industry has been compounded by labor tensions. On 10 February, members of the National Airline Pilots and Flight Attendants Union carried out a two hour walkout during the morning peak, primarily impacting Brasília, Porto Alegre and Fortaleza. Although the stoppage was brief, the timing at the start of the day meant aircraft and crews were out of position for subsequent rotations.
In Brasília alone, more than two dozen flights were delayed and several cancelled during the job action. While the walkout did not directly target Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, the interconnected nature of Brazil’s route network meant that disruption in one city quickly translated into schedule changes elsewhere. Aircraft that were due to continue on from Brasília to other hubs departed late, and some rotations had to be cancelled outright as crew duty time limits approached.
GOL and LATAM responded by offering fee free rebooking options for affected passengers, and Azul advised travelers to arrive early and monitor flight status closely. Yet those measures, while welcome, could not fully absorb the shock. Many passengers found themselves queuing for hours at service counters to secure new flights, while others missed critical long haul connections out of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The union has signaled that further actions remain possible if negotiations over pay and working conditions do not advance. For travelers planning trips in the coming weeks, the risk of additional labor related disruptions adds another layer of uncertainty on top of already stretched operations.
Weather, Congested Skies and Structural Strain
While labor relations make headlines, they are only one piece of a broader puzzle. Seasonal weather patterns, especially heavy summer rains and thunderstorms, have contributed to frequent ground holds and air traffic flow restrictions around São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. When storm cells move across approach and departure paths, controllers are forced to reduce movements per hour, triggering queues on taxiways and holding stacks in the sky.
At times, airports such as Guarulhos, Santos Dumont and Galeão have seen a substantial share of flights operating late, even when formal cancellation rates remain relatively low. For an individual traveler, a delay of 90 minutes to two hours on a domestic sector can still mean a missed connection to a more infrequent service or a late night arrival in a destination with limited ground transport options.
There are also underlying structural issues. Brazil’s commercial aviation landscape has been through cycles of rapid growth, consolidation and financial stress over the past decade. Airlines operate high utilization schedules, aiming to maximize aircraft and crew productivity in a competitive environment. This leaves limited slack in the system. When weather, technical issues or crew availability problems arise, there are fewer spare aircraft and standby crews to plug the gaps, and recovery can take many hours or spill into the following day.
Airport infrastructure at key hubs is another factor. Terminals and runways designed for volumes that have steadily grown are now handling heavy domestic and international traffic, particularly around holidays and long weekends. Even modest surges in demand or temporary staffing shortages at security, immigration or baggage handling can quickly ripple outward into delayed departures and missed slots.
Impact on Domestic and International Travelers
For those currently traveling in Brazil, the practical impacts of this disruption are being felt from check in to arrival halls. Domestic travelers shuttling between major cities for work have found that early morning flights, once considered the most reliable, can be some of the most unpredictable, especially when they follow nights of strong storms or tight aircraft rotations.
International visitors are facing their own set of challenges. Many fly into São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro on long haul services and then connect to domestic legs to destinations such as Salvador, Fortaleza, Foz do Iguaçu or the Amazon region. When those feeder flights are delayed or cancelled, options can be limited, particularly in the evening, forcing last minute overnight stays and extra costs for hotels and meals.
Travelers have also reported that customer service capacities are being stretched. Long queues at airline help desks, busy call centers and overloaded mobile apps have become familiar scenes at peak disruption times. While teams from GOL, LATAM, Azul and others are working to reaccommodate passengers and issue travel vouchers, the sheer number of people needing assistance during a major disruption event can slow response times considerably.
For families, elderly travelers and those with tight tour itineraries, these unexpected changes can be especially stressful. Missed pre booked excursions, hotel nights and transfers all add to the real cost of disruption, which is rarely captured in simple statistics about cancellations and delays.
What Travelers Should Do If They Are Flying Soon
In the face of ongoing irregular operations, travelers with upcoming flights to, from or within Brazil should adopt a more defensive planning strategy. The most important step is to monitor flight status closely not only on the day of travel, but starting 24 to 48 hours before departure. Airlines often begin making schedule adjustments as soon as they have visibility on crew, aircraft and weather constraints.
Arriving at the airport earlier than usual can also make a tangible difference, particularly at São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. Longer check in and security lines are more likely during disruption days, and early arrival gives passengers a better chance of being rebooked onto alternative flights if their original service is cancelled. For international connections, leaving at least three hours between arrival and onward domestic legs is advisable, and more if traveling during peak holiday periods or forecast storms.
Where possible, travelers might consider booking morning departures that are not too close to the start of operations, or midday flights that can benefit from some recovery time if early rotations are affected. Building in an overnight stop between an intercontinental arrival and a domestic connection can also reduce stress, although it adds cost.
Finally, flexibility is key. Those with non urgent travel should consider whether date changes are feasible if airlines offer fee waivers or flexible policies in response to disruption. Keeping digital and printed copies of tickets, confirmations and travel insurance documents can speed up assistance at airport counters if rebooking or reimbursement is required.
Looking Ahead: Will the Turbulence Continue?
The near term outlook for Brazil’s aviation network suggests that some level of disruption is likely to persist, particularly while labor negotiations remain unresolved and the summer weather pattern continues to bring frequent thunderstorms. Airlines are working to fine tune schedules, optimize aircraft utilization and adjust staffing where possible, but none of these measures can quickly eliminate the structural fragilities exposed by the recent problems.
Regulators and airport operators are also under pressure to improve resilience at key hubs. Efforts to streamline air traffic management, upgrade terminal facilities, and coordinate contingency plans between airlines and ground services are all on the agenda. However, reforms of this scale take time, and travelers planning trips in the coming weeks should not assume an immediate return to pre disruption levels of punctuality.
For GOL, LATAM Brasil and their competitors, the current situation is a stress test of operational robustness and customer relations. How they communicate with passengers, manage rebookings and handle compensation claims will influence traveler loyalty long after the last delayed flight of this episode lands. Transparent information and proactive assistance will be critical to rebuilding confidence.
In the meantime, those heading to or through Brazil’s skies should approach their journeys with realistic expectations. By planning carefully, staying informed and allowing extra time, travelers can still enjoy the country’s beaches, cities and natural wonders, even as its aviation sector weathers a period of pronounced turbulence.