Brazil announces new rules to assist airlines amid pandemic

Brazil’s Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) has announced a series of measures to mitigate the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a collapse in demand for air travel.

Anac has approved new resolutions aimed at facilitating airlines’ operation, and which could help to provide a financial respite that may prove decisive for the future of some airlines.

The measures include authorising the transportation of cargo in the passenger cabin, and greater flexibility in modifications to flight itineraries, according to a note from law firm Machado Meyer, penned by partners Fabio Komatsu Falkenburger, Marina Estrella Barros (pictured) and Vitor Guilherme da Silva Barbosa.

If a carrier changes a flight schedule and itinerary in a scheduled manner, passengers must be informed at least 24 hours in advance of the originally contracted time, shortening the original deadline for the advisory from 72 hours.

In the event of time changes, flight delays, flights cancellation or the interruption of service, the carrier shall be exempt from offering material assistance, provided that the change, delay, cancellation, or interruption has been caused by the closure of borders or airports as mandated by local authorities. Airlines will also be exempt from offering passengers re-accommodation on another company’s flight to the same destination at the earliest opportunity if there is availability on another carrier’s own flight, and offering the service by another mode of transportation.

In the event of a delay of more than two hours, the carrier will not be obliged to provide meal vouchers or to observe the meal characteristics to be provided according to the schedule.

The new rules apply to all flights originally scheduled to fly before December 31, 2020.