Thunderstorms over south-eastern Brazil combined with post-holiday crew shortages forced LATAM, GOL and Azul to cancel six high-profile flights on 6 January, including two Santos-Dumont–Congonhas shuttle rotations and long-haul services from São Paulo/Guarulhos to Miami and Amsterdam.
Cirium data show the cancellations yanked more than 1,000 premium-cabin seats from the market just as expatriates and trade-fair delegates were returning for the first full business week of 2026. KLM’s KL 792—one of only three daily non-stops to the Netherlands—was among the casualties, disrupting high-value pharma and tech cargo that relies on belly capacity.
![Storms and crew gaps force cancellation of flagship Brazil domestic and international flights]()
Airlines blamed a “perfect storm” of weather diversions, crew sick-leave spikes and knock-on effects from North American winter delays. They have retimed certain rotations and are offering fee-free rebooking, but travel-management companies expect business-class inventory to remain tight through next week.
Corporate mobility teams should advise travellers to build buffer days into itineraries, consider remote participation for early-January meetings, and—where cargo is concerned—explore dedicated freighters or routings via Santiago or Bogotá until schedules stabilise.
Cirium data show the cancellations yanked more than 1,000 premium-cabin seats from the market just as expatriates and trade-fair delegates were returning for the first full business week of 2026. KLM’s KL 792—one of only three daily non-stops to the Netherlands—was among the casualties, disrupting high-value pharma and tech cargo that relies on belly capacity.
Airlines blamed a “perfect storm” of weather diversions, crew sick-leave spikes and knock-on effects from North American winter delays. They have retimed certain rotations and are offering fee-free rebooking, but travel-management companies expect business-class inventory to remain tight through next week.
Corporate mobility teams should advise travellers to build buffer days into itineraries, consider remote participation for early-January meetings, and—where cargo is concerned—explore dedicated freighters or routings via Santiago or Bogotá until schedules stabilise.
Source: VisaHQ – Global Mobility News
