Brazil ANAC Approves New Rule for Exceptional Completion of Congonhas Operations After 23:00

Key points

• ANAC approved allowing, in exceptional contingency situations, completion of operations already scheduled for the day at Congonhas Airport after 23:00.
• The measure is strictly contingency-based: it does not change official operating hours, grant permanent post-23:00 authorisation, create new flights, or allow additional slot allocation.
• It is restricted to completing operations already scheduled for that day, not new flights.
• The decision interprets Resolution No. 55/2008, which bans regular commercial and general aviation operations after 23:00 but did not expressly address contingencies.
• Implementation requires completion of an Operational Agreement (Caop) among Decea, the airport concessionaire and Latam, Gol and Azul to set objective criteria and trigger flows.
• The discussion originated from a request by Abear, which highlighted Congonhas's role in the national network and cascade effects.
• According to case records, two recent incidents—a weather event and a gas leak at air-traffic-control facilities—affected more than 120,000 passengers.
• ANAC technical areas found no impediments and noted such overruns are rare: only two by June 2026 and five in all of 2025.