Brazil’s Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) centre, CGNA, activated its Severe Convective Weather System (STSC) at 04:44 BRT on 15 October as a squall line moved across the South-East Corridor linking Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília. According to CGNA’s operational bulletin, cumulonimbus build-ups forced ground-delay programmes at GRU, GIG and BSB, cascading to slot restrictions at 17 regional airports. AISWEB NOTAM bulletins recorded additional runway-condition reports (RCRs) and a series of flow-control messages (B2286/26, B2287/26) overnight. By dawn on 16 October, the queue at São Paulo/Guarulhos peaked at 32 departures waiting an average 48 minutes, while Rio/Santos Dumont experienced seven cancellations as business shuttle flights could not meet slot-tolerance windows. The disruption coincided with the Friday morning bank-holiday getaway in several municipalities, amplifying passenger volumes. Multinationals reported delays in product-launch roadshows and board-level meetings as executives rerouted through Belo Horizonte or switched to videoconferences. CGNA lifted national restrictions at 09:20 BRT but kept a playbook contingency in place, warning operators of residual thunderstorms along the coast. Airlines will recalibrate crew-duty rosters for the weekend, potentially pushing further delays if repositioning flights exceed maximum hours. Travel managers are advised to monitor CGNA live dashboards and build contingency hotel budgets for the October-December convective season, when afternoon buildups are common over the plateau.
