In a move welcomed by corporate flight departments and business-jet operators, Brazil’s Department of Airspace Control (DECEA) announced on 28 June 2026 that it will test a four-month “slot-exchange” pilot at São Paulo-Congonhas (CGH), the country’s busiest downtown airport. The initiative, unveiled after consultations with the Brazilian Association of General Aviation (ABAG) and the Air Navigation Management Centre (CGNA), will let operators who hold unused or inconvenient departure/arrival slots trade them peer-to-peer under DECEA oversight.
![Brazil’s air-navigation authority allows flexible slot-swapping at São Paulo-Congonhas]()
For international flight crews and executives heading to Brazil, having the correct travel documents is just as critical as securing an optimal slot. VisaHQ can assist by streamlining the Brazilian visa or e-Visa application process online, providing real-time status updates and expert support that keeps pace with last-minute itinerary changes. Explore the options at https://www.visahq.com/brazil/
Today, non-scheduled operators must reserve slots in the SIGMA system up to five days before departure and forfeit them if plans change, often leading to wasted capacity and day-of-travel bottlenecks. Under the pilot, an operator that foresees a schedule slip could offer its slot to another user via a DECEA-managed platform, improving utilisation while maintaining transparency. No operator will be compelled to relinquish a slot, DECEA emphasised. Brigadier André Gustavo Peçanha, head of DECEA Operations, said the agency wants “predictability without rigidity.” Congonhas averages 630 aircraft movements per day, 15 % of which are business-aviation flights. ABAG Director-General Flávio Pires argues that a formalised swap mechanism could reduce last-minute ground-holding by up to 12 %, saving fuel and cutting taxi-out times that have ballooned during World Cup traffic peaks this month. For travel-managers flying executives on charter or company jets, the change could translate into more departure-time certainty and fewer re-routes to more distant airports such as Campinas-Viracopos. Commercial airlines are watching closely; if the concept proves safe, DECEA may extend controlled slot trading to scheduled carriers during low-season weekends. The pilot also signals a regulatory culture shift. Whereas previous congestion measures relied on rigid allocation and punitive cancellations, the new model rewards collaborative planning—a trend in line with EUROCONTROL’s Flow Management positions and the FAA’s Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM) programme. Mobility professionals should monitor DECEA communiqués and be ready to adjust flight-planning software to interface with the forthcoming slot-exchange portal.
For international flight crews and executives heading to Brazil, having the correct travel documents is just as critical as securing an optimal slot. VisaHQ can assist by streamlining the Brazilian visa or e-Visa application process online, providing real-time status updates and expert support that keeps pace with last-minute itinerary changes. Explore the options at https://www.visahq.com/brazil/
Today, non-scheduled operators must reserve slots in the SIGMA system up to five days before departure and forfeit them if plans change, often leading to wasted capacity and day-of-travel bottlenecks. Under the pilot, an operator that foresees a schedule slip could offer its slot to another user via a DECEA-managed platform, improving utilisation while maintaining transparency. No operator will be compelled to relinquish a slot, DECEA emphasised. Brigadier André Gustavo Peçanha, head of DECEA Operations, said the agency wants “predictability without rigidity.” Congonhas averages 630 aircraft movements per day, 15 % of which are business-aviation flights. ABAG Director-General Flávio Pires argues that a formalised swap mechanism could reduce last-minute ground-holding by up to 12 %, saving fuel and cutting taxi-out times that have ballooned during World Cup traffic peaks this month. For travel-managers flying executives on charter or company jets, the change could translate into more departure-time certainty and fewer re-routes to more distant airports such as Campinas-Viracopos. Commercial airlines are watching closely; if the concept proves safe, DECEA may extend controlled slot trading to scheduled carriers during low-season weekends. The pilot also signals a regulatory culture shift. Whereas previous congestion measures relied on rigid allocation and punitive cancellations, the new model rewards collaborative planning—a trend in line with EUROCONTROL’s Flow Management positions and the FAA’s Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM) programme. Mobility professionals should monitor DECEA communiqués and be ready to adjust flight-planning software to interface with the forthcoming slot-exchange portal.
