Business travel Daily · Saturday, 3 October 2026

On October 2, 2026, Amadeus Newsroom announced that Air Arabia signed a group-level distribution agreement with Amadeus to expand distribution coverage through Amadeus's global travel sales network. The agreement is based on a light ticketing model, allowing travel sellers to connect to the airline's systems in real time within standard GDS workflows, booking and managing Air Arabia content in the same interface. The report stated that Air Arabia is the largest low-cost airline operator in the Middle East and North Africa, carrying more than 20 million passengers annually, operating more than 200 routes, and having six hubs in the United Arab Emirates (Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah), Morocco, Egypt, and Pakistan.

On October 3, 2026, Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) launched a public consultation on infrastructure access conditions and slot allocation criteria at São Paulo's Congonhas Airport, with submissions required by December 29 via the Brasil Participativo platform. ANAC stated that the topics to be analyzed include the qualifications and prioritization criteria for air operators, the impact of existing infrastructure and slot supply on the entry of new entrants, and rules for the temporary use of slots with the possibility of reclamation. ANAC also stated that this consultation does not constitute a prior decision to modify rules, reserve slots for competition, or adopt a specific allocation mechanism.

On October 2, 2026, at the LATAM Conference 2026 held in Mexico City, GBTA released research forecasting that Latin America business travel spending will reach US$67.7 billion in 2026, a year-on-year increase of approximately 11%, one of the highest regional growth rates globally; and it is expected that growth will slow to 3.3% in 2027.