Viracopos Power Outage Cancels 26 Azul Flights and Slows Security Checks
Brazil · Travel
Key Facts
- —What happened Part of the passenger terminal at Viracopos, near Campinas, lost power at about 3:10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, 22 September 2026.
- —Who was hit hardest Azul, which runs most flights at the airport, said it cancelled 26 flights because of the power failure.
- —Why queues built up X-ray scanners at the entrance to the departure area went down, so security checks were done by hand.
- —The catch The operator says the backup generator did not work, and knock-on effects on flights could last up to two days.
- —What was not affected The runway, aircraft apron, access roads and cargo terminal kept working, according to the operator.
- —What travellers should do Check the flight status with the airline before leaving for the airport, as both the operator and Azul advise.
A failed substation and a backup generator that never started left Azul’s main hub in the dark for hours. The airport warns that delays could last for up to two days.
A Viracopos power outage threw Azul’s main hub into disarray on Tuesday 22 September 2026. Queues stretched to the terminal doors as X-ray scanners and flight boards went dark.
Azul, the airline that dominates the airport near Campinas, said it cancelled 26 flights because of the failure. The operator warned that knock-on delays could last up to two days.
Viracopos International Airport sits about 80 kilometres northwest of São Paulo. It is the main hub of Azul and one of Brazil’s leading air cargo gateways.
A substation fails before dawn
The trouble began at about 3:10 a.m. local time, which in Campinas is Brasília time. Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos, the private company that runs the airport under a federal concession, said one substation feeding the check-in hall failed.
What should have happened next did not. The airport has a generator for outages, but it did not work, the operator told g1, the Globo group’s news site.
The concession also said there are three redundancy points meant to prevent this kind of blackout. The link between the three substations was interrupted, and it is investigating why.
Power began to return to the check-in hall at about 6:30 a.m., the operator told the news agency Estadão Conteúdo. Even so, g1 reported that part of the terminal was still on emergency lighting at noon.
The departure boards were dark overnight and came back on at about nine in the morning. The operator had said it expected full power to be restored by 12:30 p.m. Brasília time.
Security checks done by hand
The outage hit the X-ray machines at the entrance to the departure area. Security screening had to be carried out manually, the operator said, slowing the flow of passengers and staff.
During the morning the line for the departure area ran the length of the hall and reached the terminal door. Check-in and baggage drop counters were also crowded, according to g1.
Some passengers were stuck on the other side. Clara Maia, a social media influencer with 3 million followers, said she spent about two hours stuck on board an aircraft.
“There was a blackout and nobody gets in, nobody gets out,” she wrote in a post quoted by g1. At 9:07 a.m. she posted that she had finally got off.
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How many flights were hit
Azul said 26 of its flights had been cancelled so far because of the power failure, and others were delayed. Earlier in the morning the airline had blamed weather in the Campinas region.
Tracking site Flightradar24 showed 26 cancellations and 81 delays at the airport by 1:06 p.m., g1 reported. Not all of those delays were necessarily caused by the outage.
Rival airlines reported little disruption. LATAM said only one of its flights was delayed, a service to Brasília that left 1 hour and 24 minutes late.
Gol said its only departure scheduled for Tuesday morning had operated. The operator said the runway, aircraft apron, access roads and cargo terminal were not affected.
The concession said passengers were still boarding their flights, only more slowly than normal. Because one aircraft flies several legs a day, early delays tend to ripple through the schedule.
Utility says the fault was inside the airport
CPFL Paulista, the power distributor that serves Campinas, said its network was working normally. It said it had registered no problems and received no call for help at the airport.
The fault originated in the airport’s own installations and is therefore the airport’s responsibility, the distributor said. The operator says it is still investigating what caused the failure.
What travellers should do now
Anyone flying through Viracopos this week should check the flight status with the airline before leaving home. Both the operator and Azul have given that advice.
Azul said affected customers are receiving the assistance required by Resolution 400 of Anac, Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency. That rule sets duties that grow with the length of a delay.
After one hour, airlines must provide means of communication such as phone or internet access. After two hours they must provide food, and after four hours lodging if needed, with transport.
For cancellations, or delays of more than four hours, passengers can choose a full refund or rebooking at no extra cost. Rebooking can be on another airline, and some trips can be completed by bus.
Keep boarding passes and receipts for any expenses.
The Viracopos power outage is a reminder that a single hub can disrupt a whole network. The operator expects the knock-on effects on flights to last for up to two days.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What caused the Viracopos power outage?
The operator, Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos, said a substation feeding the check-in hall failed at about 3:10 a.m. Brasília time on Tuesday 22 September 2026. It said the backup generator did not work and the link between three substations was interrupted. The power distributor CPFL Paulista said its own network was working normally and that the fault was inside the airport.
How many flights were cancelled?
Azul said 26 of its flights were cancelled because of the power failure, with further delays. Flightradar24 data cited by g1 showed 26 cancellations and 81 delays at the airport by 1:06 p.m. Brasília time. Not every delay was necessarily linked to the outage.
Will my flight through Campinas be affected later this week?
Possibly. The operator said the effects on flights could last up to two days, as delayed aircraft and crews work back into the schedule. Check the flight status with the airline before going to the airport.
What am I entitled to if my Azul flight is cancelled?
Under Anac Resolution 400, airlines must offer communication after one hour, food after two hours and lodging if needed after four hours. For a cancellation you can choose a full refund, rebooking at no extra cost, possibly on another airline, or another mode of transport. Azul said affected customers are receiving this assistance.
Sources: g1 on the 26 Azul cancellations and 81 delays, g1 on the failed generator and the two-day warning, g1 on queues, cancellations and airline statements, g1 on passengers held on board, Estadão Conteúdo on the operator’s statement, SBT News on the morning queues, Migalhas on passenger rights under Anac Resolution 400
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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