A storm driven blackout that swept across São Paulo on December 10 has now forced the cancellation of 369 flights at the city’s two main airports and continues to ripple through travel and business itineraries across Brazil, just as the country heads into one of its busiest periods for corporate travel and year end holidays.

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Storm knocks out power and paralyzes key aviation hub

The disruption began when a powerful extratropical cyclone brought winds approaching 100 kilometers per hour across southeastern Brazil on December 10.

In São Paulo, the country’s largest city and financial capital, the storm toppled hundreds of trees and damaged power lines across multiple neighborhoods, triggering a large scale blackout that at one point left more than 1.4 million residents without electricity.

Among the systems hit were those serving Congonhas Airport, São Paulo’s centrally located domestic hub, and Guarulhos International Airport on the city’s outskirts, the main gateway for long haul international flights.

While airports rely on backup generators to maintain essential safety functions, the combination of unstable grid power, flooded access roads and damage to nearby infrastructure quickly undermined normal operations.

By December 11 aviation authorities and airport operators were reporting hundreds of cancellations and delays as airlines struggled to adapt schedules and ground handling companies worked around intermittent power cuts that affected everything from lighting and air conditioning to baggage belts and check in systems.

369 flights canceled as airlines cut schedules

Updated figures released by São Paulo’s airport operators on December 16 showed a combined total of 369 cancellations at Congonhas and Guarulhos since the storm struck.

While initial reports spoke of almost 400 cancellations in the first 48 hours after the blackout, the refined tally reflects flights scrubbed over several days as airlines trimmed schedules in an effort to restore some predictability for passengers.

Domestic services bore the brunt of the disruption. Congonhas, which primarily handles high frequency shuttle flights linking São Paulo with Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and other major cities, saw well over 300 flights either canceled outright or significantly delayed.

The cancellations quickly cascaded through Brazil’s interconnected air network as aircraft and crews failed to arrive where they were needed for subsequent legs.

Guarulhos International, one of Latin America’s largest hubs, was less affected in absolute numbers but still reported dozens of cancellations and diversions on a mix of domestic, regional and long haul routes.

Some international services departed hours behind schedule while others were consolidated or rebooked onto later dates as airlines attempted to manage crew duty limits and aircraft rotations amid an unpredictable power situation.

Business travelers caught in the middle of year end rush

The timing of the blackout has amplified its impact on the corporate travel market. December is traditionally a heavy month for business trips in Brazil, with companies rushing to close deals, hold regional meetings and arrange year end client visits before the Christmas and New Year holidays. São Paulo, as the country’s financial and corporate center, sits at the heart of this traffic.

In the days following the storm, passengers at Congonhas described long queues at check in counters and boarding gates, with limited information available and constant last minute changes to departure boards.

Many travelers reported being rebooked onto flights departing one or even two days later, forcing them to cancel or compress meetings in other cities including Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Salvador.

For multinational firms with regional headquarters in São Paulo, the storm disruption has triggered a rapid shift toward virtual meetings, with some companies instructing staff to postpone nonessential travel until flight operations stabilize.

Travel managers say they are having to renegotiate hotel and meeting room bookings across Brazil, while also helping stranded staff find temporary accommodation near airports as they wait for new departure slots.

Airlines offer flexibility but face operational strain

Brazil’s three largest carriers, LATAM, GOL and Azul, have introduced temporary flexibility measures for customers affected by the São Paulo disruptions. Travelers booked to fly from, to or via Congonhas and Guarulhos between December 10 and December 20 have generally been offered the option to change dates or routes without incurring change fees, although fare differences still apply in many cases if rebooked into higher demand flights.

Even with these policies, airlines are facing significant operational strain. Crews and aircraft are out of position after several days of rolling cancellations, forcing planners to redesign rotations on short notice. Night time curfews at certain airports, as well as infrastructure repairs in São Paulo, limit the ability to simply add extra flights during off peak hours to clear backlogs.

Ground handling teams at both airports are also working with partial systems. While core runway lighting, radar and air traffic control services have been maintained using generators, some secondary systems such as automated baggage handling and climate control in terminal buildings remain vulnerable to additional outages until the city’s grid is fully stabilized.

That increases the likelihood of continued delays and occasional last minute cancellations even as the headline number of grounded flights begins to fall.

City infrastructure and energy provider under scrutiny

The blackout has intensified scrutiny of São Paulo’s energy infrastructure and of Enel, the Italian controlled utility that distributes electricity across much of the metropolitan region.

Local authorities point to a pattern of long restoration times after recent storms, arguing that the grid is not adequately prepared for the more frequent extreme weather events associated with climate variability.

Municipal officials have also acknowledged gaps in tree maintenance along key corridors, including routes leading to the airports and around critical substations. Hundreds of trees were reported toppled or heavily damaged during the storm, many falling directly onto power lines and service roads.

The combination of vegetation, overhead cables and dense urban development has complicated repair efforts and extended the period of instability.

Brazil’s federal government has signaled that it expects regulators to take a closer look at service quality and resilience standards, especially in major economic hubs such as São Paulo.

For the travel and aviation sectors, any eventual regulatory changes could translate into additional investments in backup systems at airports, dedicated power lines for critical infrastructure and stronger coordination protocols with utilities ahead of forecast storms.

Knock on effects across Brazil’s domestic network

The problems in São Paulo are reverberating across Brazil’s wider air transport system. As the main collection and distribution point for domestic and many international flights, disruptions at Congonhas and Guarulhos quickly lead to aircraft and crew shortages at secondary airports.

By the weekend after the storm, travelers in cities as far apart as Recife, Manaus and Florianópolis were reporting full flights, limited seat availability and sudden schedule changes linked back to the São Paulo blackout.

Smaller regional carriers that interline with major airlines have also been affected, as missed connections in São Paulo reduce feed into their networks. In some cases, passengers arriving on delayed long haul flights at Guarulhos have been forced to overnight in São Paulo because their onward domestic sectors have already departed or been canceled earlier in the day.

Rail and intercity bus companies have seen a moderate uptick in demand from travelers seeking alternatives for medium haul routes such as São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro or Belo Horizonte. However, for longer distances within Brazil and for international travel, air remains virtually the only practical option. That reality underscores the importance of rapidly stabilizing operations at the nation’s busiest air hub.

What travelers to and from Brazil should do now

Travel professionals are advising anyone with imminent plans to fly into or out of São Paulo to build extra buffer time into schedules and to monitor their bookings closely. Given the scale of cancellations already recorded, even flights that are currently showing on time may be subject to operational changes as airlines reassign aircraft and crews.

Business travelers in particular are being urged to keep key meetings flexible, favoring video conferences where possible or scheduling in person appointments at least a full day after planned arrival to allow for potential rebookings.

Travelers connecting through São Paulo on their way to other Brazilian destinations are being encouraged, when feasible, to book itineraries that allow for longer connection windows rather than tight back to back segments.

Airline customer service channels and airport information desks have been heavily used since the blackout began, and callers should expect longer wait times.

Travel management companies and corporate travel departments can often reissue tickets and process voluntary changes more quickly than general consumer call centers, offering an important advantage for firms with large traveling workforces.

Outlook for recovery and longer term resilience

Power restoration efforts across São Paulo have brought relief to many neighborhoods in the days following the storm, but pockets of instability remain.

For airport operations, a full return to normal schedules will likely depend not only on power reliability but also on the clearance of debris on access roads, the repair of damaged local substations and the restoration of normal staffing levels after several days of emergency shifts.

Aviation analysts note that the number of daily cancellations should gradually decrease as airlines complete their irregular operations recovery plans. However, passengers may continue to experience elevated levels of delays compared with seasonal norms for at least several more days, especially on heavily traveled routes where aircraft are already near full capacity.

Longer term, the incident is likely to feed into a broader conversation about climate resilience in Brazilian transport infrastructure. Extreme weather events are placing new stress on aging grids and surface networks, and airports that depend on these systems find themselves increasingly vulnerable.

For business travelers and tourism stakeholders alike, the blackout in São Paulo serves as a reminder that contingency planning is becoming an essential part of travel strategy, not an optional extra.

FAQ

Q1. How many flights have been canceled at São Paulo’s airports due to the blackout?
Authorities and airport operators report that a combined total of 369 flights have been canceled at Congonhas and Guarulhos since the storm hit on December 10, with additional services delayed or rescheduled.

Q2. Which airports in São Paulo are most affected?
Congonhas Airport, the city’s main domestic hub close to downtown, has seen the largest number of cancellations, while Guarulhos International Airport has also experienced cancellations, delays and diversions on both domestic and international routes.

Q3. What caused the power outage that disrupted flights?
A powerful extratropical cyclone swept through southeastern Brazil, bringing very strong winds that toppled trees and damaged power lines across São Paulo. The resulting grid failures affected airport facilities and surrounding infrastructure.

Q4. Are flights still being disrupted, or has the situation normalized?
While the number of cancellations has begun to decline, operations have not fully returned to normal. Travelers are still encountering delays, occasional last minute cancellations and longer queues as airlines and airports work through the backlog.

Q5. How are airlines helping affected passengers?
Major Brazilian carriers such as LATAM, GOL and Azul have activated flexible rebooking policies, allowing passengers with tickets covering the period after December 10 to change flights without standard change fees, subject to seat availability and possible fare differences.

Q6. What should business travelers with upcoming trips to São Paulo do?
Corporate travelers are advised to monitor their bookings closely, allow generous buffers between flights and key meetings, and consider using video conferencing or rescheduling nonessential travel until flight operations stabilize.

Q7. Are other Brazilian cities and airports feeling the impact?
Yes. Because São Paulo is a central hub in Brazil’s air network, disruptions there have led to aircraft and crew shortages at other airports, triggering additional delays and limited seat availability across multiple domestic routes.

Q8. Is it still safe to fly in and out of São Paulo during the blackout period?
Core safety systems at the airports, including runway lighting and air traffic control, are being maintained using generators and backup procedures. The main issue for passengers is operational reliability and timing rather than safety itself.

Q9. How far in advance should travelers arrive at the airport right now?
Given the ongoing disruption, travelers are generally advised to arrive at least three hours before domestic flights and four hours before international departures from São Paulo, to account for possible longer lines and manual procedures.

Q10. Could similar weather related blackouts affect São Paulo’s airports again?
Experts warn that as extreme weather events become more frequent, pressure on aging urban infrastructure will increase, which means that without significant investment in grid resilience and backup systems, the risk of future storm related airport disruptions cannot be ruled out.