Brazil Unveils 2.5B R$ Billion Lifeline for Airlines

After shielding diesel consumers with a R$30 billion package in March, the Lula government has now extended Brazil aviation fuel relief to the airline sector — deploying billions in subsidized credit to prevent the Iran war’s oil shock from grounding domestic connectivity.

Finance Minister Dario Durigan and Ports and Airports Minister Tomé Franca announced the aviation relief package on April 7. The centerpiece is a financing line through the Fundo Nacional de Aviação Civil (FNAC) of up to R$2.5 billion (~$430 million) per airline, operated by BNDES, with the credit risk borne by the airlines themselves. For Brazil’s three major carriers — GOL, LATAM Brasil, and Azul — the total available reaches R$7.5 billion (~$1.29 billion). A separate short-term capital line of R$1.5 billion (~$258 million) will be available under conditions set by the Conselho Monetário Nacional (CMN), with the Union assuming the guarantee, as reported by Rádio Itatiaia and Mercado & Consumo.

The trigger was Petrobras’s announcement in early April of a 54.6% increase in the price of querosene de aviação (QAv). Since the Iran war began in late February, cumulative aviation fuel costs have risen 64%. Petrobras will phase the increase: 18% applied immediately in April, with the remainder parceled in six monthly installments starting July. The government also published a decree zeroing PIS and Cofins taxes on QAv, reducing costs by approximately R$0.07 per liter, and authorized airlines to defer navigation fee payments to DECEA for April through June to December 2026.

Why It Matters for Passengers and Markets

Brazil recently set a passenger record, and Franca emphasized the government’s intent to maintain that trajectory. “We hit a recent passenger record, and we want to guarantee the continuation of expansion and regional connectivity,” he said. The IPCA data released today showed airfares fell 9.14% in March as seasonal holiday demand faded, but the full impact of the QAv hike will show up in April and May ticket prices. Without the relief package, airlines faced a choice between absorbing unsustainable losses or passing through increases that would have priced out a large share of domestic travelers.

The aviation package sits alongside the March diesel relief and the trucker strike prevention measures as the third major sectoral intervention since the war began. Durigan said all measures fall within the fiscal impact projections for 2026, but the government is now managing simultaneous credit exposures totaling tens of billions of reais across diesel, aviation, and trucking — all contingent on a war whose ceasefire has already frayed once.