Brazil in Major Travel Stress as LATAM Brasil Grounds Twenty Flights and Delays Hundreds across Brasília, Chapecó, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Manaus and more, All You Need to Know

Published on December 11, 2025

A travel crisis hit Brazil on 10th December, 2025. LATAM Brasil suddenly grounded twenty flights and delayed 271 others. This extensive operational failure affects nearly three out of every ten scheduled services. Consequently, chaos now reigns at major airports nationwide. Hubs in São Paulo, particularly Guarulhos, bore the brunt of the disruption. However, the impact quickly spread across the entire network. Passengers faced severe challenges in cities from Manaus to Recife and Rio de Janeiro to Brasília. Furthermore, key regional gateways felt the ripple effect; airports in Maceió, Fortaleza, Palmas, Imperatriz, Foz do Iguaçu, Belém, Cuiabá, Uberlândia, Goiânia, Campo Grande, São José do Rio Preto, Chapecó and Curitiba were all entangled in the instability. This report examines the full scope of the cancellations and delays now impacting air travel in Brazil.

A Breakdown of the Affected Flights

The list of affected services clearly demonstrates that the operational disruption was not confined to a single geographic corridor but rather a national issue impacting both early morning and mid-day routes. Multiple long-haul domestic connections were compromised, linking distant points such as Manaus, Maceió and Aracaju with the primary southeast hubs.

• North-South Long-Haul: Flights originating from major Northern and Northeastern cities, including Manaus (MAO), Recife (REC), Fortaleza (FOR) and Belém (BEL), which serve as critical tourism and business links, were heavily affected by connecting to São Paulo (GRU/CGH).
• Regional-Hub Connections: Critical regional gateways such as Chapecó (XAP), Petrolina (PNZ) and Palmas (PMW) saw their links to São Paulo-Guarulhos (GRU) compromised.
• Intra-Southeast Traffic: Even high-frequency routes connecting major urban centers, such as Rio de Janeiro/Galeão (GIG) to São Paulo-Guarulhos (GRU) and Santos Dumont (SDU) to São Paulo-Congonhas (CGH), were subject to irregularity.

The uniformity of the disruption across the network suggests a broad operational issue, the ripple effects of which were felt from the Amazon to the southern states of Brazil.

Delays

With 271 flights experiencing a delay, the 28% delay rate represents a significant level of schedule instability. Given the high volume of domestic flights, particularly through congested airports like São Paulo-Congonhas (CGH) and São Paulo-Guarulhos (GRU), cascading delays are typically introduced into the system.

Affected Airports

This geographical spread emphasizes that the issue was not isolated to the main south-eastern markets but had a national reach across Brazil.

Probable Impact on Local Tourism

While the precise monetary impact cannot be quantified solely on the provided data, a severe disruption of this nature is generally expected to have a tangible effect on local tourism and business in the affected cities. Destinations such as Recife, Manaus and the financial capital of São Paulo rely heavily on air travel for tourist arrivals. Delays and cancellations can lead to missed hotel bookings, reduced spending on local services and diminished confidence in Brazil’s travel infrastructure. For major tourist draws like Rio de Janeiro, an increase in travel friction can lead to reputational damage. Furthermore, the operational challenge at Brasília’s airport affects government and business travel, which is essential for the economic vitality of the capital. The connectivity to regional cities like Chapecó and Petrolina is also crucial for regional business and agriculture, where timely travel is paramount. The total disruption inevitably introduced an unwelcome element of risk into travel planning across Brazil.

What Affected Passengers Can Do

Passengers in a situation like this, are legally entitled to specific protections under Brazilian civil aviation regulations. It is strongly advised that affected individuals immediately contact LATAM Brasil to confirm their status and explore available options.

1. Re-accommodation or Refund: Passengers must be offered the choice of a full refund, or re-accommodation on the next available flight, either on LATAM Brasil or another carrier, to their final destination.
2. Material Assistance: Depending on the duration of the delay, material assistance is warranted. This can include access to communication (after one hour), food and beverage vouchers (after two hours) and accommodation with transfer services (after four hours, particularly if an overnight stay is required).
3. Documentation: All correspondence, cancellation notices and receipts for necessary expenses should be retained for any future claims related to moral or material damages.

The situation across Brazil demands transparency from the airline and proactive engagement from passengers to mitigate the consequences of this major travel disruption.

-The information provided is sourced from FlightAware.