Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has announced that, as of May 11, 2025, the 20 daily slots held by Voepass Linhas Aéreas at Congonhas Airport (CGH) and the eight slots at Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) will be made available to other airlines. This temporary measure applies solely to the current Summer 2025 aviation season, which runs from March 30 to October 25, 2025.

ANAC’s decision is based on Resolution No. 682 of June 7, 2022, which governs the allocation and monitoring of airport infrastructure use, complemented by Decisions No. 533 and No. 534, issued on the same date, which define the coordination parameters for Congonhas and Guarulhos airports.

The redistribution of Voepass’s takeoff and landing slots is a direct result of the airline’s failure to meet the minimum 80% regularity rate required by ANAC for its scheduled operations at both airports. Under Brazil’s slot regulations, if a carrier fails to maintain the required regularity, its slots may be reallocated to other airlines interested in expanding their services.

Voepass Linhas Aéreas, based in Ribeirão Preto and operating a fleet mainly composed of ATR aircraft, has faced a suspension of operations since March 11, 2025. According to reporting by our partner outlet Aeroin, this precautionary suspension was imposed by ANAC and will remain in place until the airline demonstrates its ability to operate in compliance with aviation safety regulations, including having a sufficiently robust Safety Management System (SMS). Reports from April 2025 indicated that Voepass had filed for judicial recovery.

Brazil’s current slot regulation aligns with established international practices, aiming to promote efficiency and optimize infrastructure use at congested airports. In Brazil, five airports are coordinated under this slot distribution system, with Congonhas being one of the most in-demand. Voepass’s presence at Congonhas accounted for approximately 3% of the airport’s total slots. Congonhas serves as a critical domestic hub, while Guarulhos is Brazil’s main international gateway and a key logistics center.

Slot allocation in Brazil is divided into two seasons each year: Summer (S), from March to October, and Winter (W), from October to March. Regularity and performance assessments are based on comparisons with equivalent periods to ensure a balanced analysis. For this reason, the unused Summer 2025 slots held by Voepass are now open to any airline that meets the regulatory criteria, for the remainder of the season.

It is important to note that this temporary use will not confer historical rights for the Summer 2026 season (S26). For S26, these slots will return to ANAC, which will carry out a new distribution process aimed at attracting new entrants and encouraging competition.

Initially, in March, ANAC had decided to maintain the slots assigned to Voepass, considering the precautionary nature of the suspension and the possibility that the airline could resume operations in time to preserve its historical rights. However, such a return to operations has not materialized. Resolution No. 682 of 2022 modernized the rules on airport coordination, even introducing the possibility of a secondary slot market under certain conditions to stimulate more dynamic usage.