Air travel across Brazil and key international routes faced fresh disruption this week as a cluster of cancellations by LATAM, Gol, Azul, Air Canada and other major carriers rippled through airports in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Campinas, Toronto, Montreal and Madrid. At least 27 flights were cancelled, with hundreds of additional services delayed, affecting both domestic business travelers and long haul leisure passengers at the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer season.
What Happened: A New Wave of Cancellations Across Brazil
The latest disruption unfolded between February 10 and 11, 2026, when operational data from Brazil’s busiest hubs showed 27 cancellations and well over 170 delays concentrated in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and Campinas. Most of the affected flights were operated by Brazil’s three main carriers, LATAM Brasil, Gol Linhas Aéreas and Azul Brazilian Airlines, which together dominate the country’s domestic network and a growing share of its regional international services.
The cancellations were not limited to internal Brazilian routes. Additional data showed that long haul connections from São Paulo to Toronto, Montreal and Madrid were also pulled from the schedule, affecting passengers booked on Air Canada and Iberia, alongside LATAM services that provide onward connectivity through São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport. The combination of domestic and international cuts amplified the impact, leaving travelers stranded at departure points as varied as Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont and Brasília Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport.
While the overall number of grounded flights may seem modest in the context of Brazil’s large daily schedule, the effect was magnified by the routes involved. Many of the affected legs link Brazil’s political and financial centers with secondary cities and foreign gateways, creating bottlenecks that cascaded down through airline networks and disrupted connections far beyond the airports where the cancellations originated.
Key Routes Hit: São Paulo, Rio, Brasília, Toronto, Montreal and Madrid
The most visible shock waves were felt in and around São Paulo, South America’s largest aviation market. Congonhas Airport, the downtown business hub, registered multiple cancellations on the high frequency shuttle to Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont, along with flights to popular leisure and regional destinations such as Recife, Porto Seguro and Navegantes. Even a small number of cancelled frequencies on these dense routes can force missed meetings, scrapped weekend plans and broken connections onto Brazil’s broader network.
At Guarulhos International Airport, the country’s main long haul gateway, cancellations touched both narrowbody domestic services and widebody international operations. Passengers bound for regional cities such as São José do Rio Preto, Santa Maria, Goiabeiras and Palmas found their flights pulled from departure boards, while others scheduled to fly to Toronto, Montreal and Madrid were informed that their transatlantic services on Air Canada and Iberia would not operate as planned. For many, that meant an unplanned overnight in São Paulo or a scramble to secure alternative routings through other hubs.
Further north, Brasília and Campinas added to the countrywide disruption picture. In Brasília, cancellations severed some of the capital’s links with Rio, São Paulo and key regional destinations, affecting government officials, business travelers and connecting passengers alike. Campinas Viracopos, an important Azul base, also recorded cancellations, notably on routes feeding São Paulo’s metropolitan region and other domestic cities. Together with the issues in Rio’s Galeão and Santos Dumont airports, this left a swath of passengers caught in a patchwork of cancellations stretching from the country’s major capitals to tourist destinations and regional economic centers.
Airlines Under Strain: LATAM, Gol, Azul, Air Canada and Iberia
Data from the latest disruption underscores how concentrated Brazil’s air travel risks have become among a small group of carriers. Gol registered the largest combined total of cancellations and delays, with double digit cancellations and more than one hundred late departures reported in a single day across multiple airports. LATAM Brasil followed, with several cancellations and dozens of delayed flights, while Azul recorded a smaller number of cancellations but a disproportionate volume of delays on its dense domestic network.
International carriers were drawn into the turmoil as well. Air Canada cancelled key services linking São Paulo Guarulhos with Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau, two of the most important gateways for Brazilian traffic to Canada. In some cases, passengers were rebooked onto services operating 24 hours later, generating complaints from travelers who had already coordinated separate domestic connections to São Paulo for the original departure time. Iberia also pulled at least one long haul flight between São Paulo and Madrid, tightening capacity just as demand remains robust on Europe bound routes from Brazil.
Together, these airlines operate the backbone of both Brazil’s internal connectivity and its international access to North America and Europe. When their schedules falter simultaneously, the options for quick rebooking and reliable same day alternatives shrink rapidly, leaving many travelers dependent on overnight stays, last minute itinerary changes or complete trip cancellations.
Why Flights Are Being Cancelled: Weather, Crewing and Network Complexity
The immediate causes of the latest cancellations vary by route and carrier, but several structural factors are at play. Summer weather in southeastern Brazil remains volatile, with intense thunderstorms frequently building over São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In recent months, early summer storm systems have forced runway closures, triggered wind shear alerts and produced ground holds that cascade through airport departure banks. Even when storms are localized, they can disrupt the delicate timing of shuttle corridors such as Santos Dumont to Congonhas and the heavy long haul departure waves from Guarulhos.
Crewing challenges are also exerting pressure on airline operations. Following peak holiday periods, carriers often struggle to align flight crew availability with high demand as staff return from leave or rotate through mandatory rest periods. Industry observers have already documented instances in early January where combined crew shortages and adverse weather forced LATAM, Gol and Azul to cancel high profile flights on core business routes and long haul links. The current wave of disruptions appears to be an extension of that fragile balance between schedules designed for high utilization and the realities of weather and workforce constraints.
Network complexity adds another layer of vulnerability. Brazil’s main carriers rely on hub and spoke models centered around São Paulo, Rio, Brasília and Campinas, with tight aircraft rotations connecting different legs across the day and night. A single cancellation on a morning departure from a secondary city can remove an aircraft needed for an afternoon shuttle or an evening international flight. This interconnectedness helps airlines maximize efficiency in normal conditions, but it also means that localized issues quickly evolve into system wide problems when multiple hubs are affected at once.
How Passengers Are Being Affected on the Ground
The latest cancellations have translated into very real disruptions for passengers attempting to move around Brazil or connect onward to North America and Europe. At airports such as Congonhas and Santos Dumont, travelers lined up at customer service desks to secure rebooking options on later flights, often finding that alternative departures were already heavily booked or that the next available seat would not be until the following day.
For international travelers, the situation is often more complex. Passengers flying to Toronto or Montreal via Air Canada from São Paulo reported being rebooked onto flights 24 hours later after their original service was cancelled, upending prearranged connections, hotel reservations and ground transport in Canada. In some cases, this followed separate domestic tickets purchased on other Brazilian carriers to reach São Paulo in time for the long haul departure, compounding costs and logistical headaches when the international segment disappeared from the schedule.
Those traveling onward from secondary Brazilian cities also faced issues with missed connections and broken itineraries. A cancelled feeder flight from a city like São José do Rio Preto, Vitória or Palmas can cause passengers to miss not only their São Paulo or Rio bound leg but also any further international flights connected to those hubs. With many long haul services now operating just once daily on certain routes, a missed connection can easily stretch into a full day of delay, with limited options for rerouting through alternative gateways.
Passenger Rights and What Travelers Can Do Now
For affected travelers, understanding passenger rights under Brazilian and international regulations is crucial. In Brazil, the civil aviation regulator sets rules governing assistance, rebooking and refunds when airlines cancel flights or make significant schedule changes. Depending on the circumstances, passengers may be entitled to meals, accommodation, ground transportation and the option to rebook at no extra cost or receive a full refund of unused segments. These rights generally apply regardless of whether the disruption is caused by operational factors under the airline’s control or external events such as weather, although the compensation frameworks can differ.
On international routes, additional protection may come into play under the laws of the destination or transit country. For example, long haul passengers flying between Brazil and Canada or Europe may be covered by differing regimes that set out specific obligations for carriers regarding rebooking timelines, care and possible financial compensation. Travelers should review the conditions of carriage of the operating airline as well as any applicable national regulations to understand what they can claim and through which channels, whether directly with the airline or through specialized claims services.
In practical terms, experts advise travelers to monitor flight status closely in the 24 hours before departure, using both airline apps and airport information systems. When a disruption appears likely, proactively contacting the airline’s call center or using digital rebooking tools can secure a better alternative before airport queues build. For those with complex connections, especially involving separate tickets or multiple carriers, leaving more buffer time between flights and considering flexible or refundable fares on critical segments can reduce the risk of being stranded.
What This Means for Upcoming Travel in Brazil
The recent spate of cancellations and delays serves as a warning sign for passengers planning trips within Brazil or using Brazilian hubs for onward travel in the coming weeks. With summer weather patterns still in full force and airlines operating near capacity on popular routes, the system has little slack to absorb further shocks. Any additional strain, whether from storms, air traffic control restrictions or crewing gaps, could trigger new rounds of schedule adjustments, particularly on high demand corridors between São Paulo, Rio, Brasília and key leisure destinations.
For international travelers, the events in São Paulo, Rio, Toronto, Montreal and Madrid highlight the importance of viewing Brazil’s aviation system as a highly integrated network. Choosing itineraries that allow for additional connection time, prioritizing through tickets on a single carrier or alliance where possible, and keeping contingency funds for unexpected hotel stays or last minute rerouting can help mitigate the impact if cancellations resume. While most passengers affected in this latest episode were eventually offered alternative travel within a day, the inconvenience and extra costs have been a sobering reminder of how quickly well planned trips can unravel.
As airlines and regulators review the recent disruptions, travelers can expect continued messaging encouraging them to verify flight status before heading to the airport and to keep contact details updated within airline booking systems. In the near term, anyone with imminent flights touching São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Campinas, Toronto, Montreal or Madrid should stay alert to potential changes and be prepared to adjust plans quickly if cancellations or extended delays are announced.