Brazil splits passenger rights across two layers. ANAC Resolution 400/2016 sets what the airline must do at the airport: inform, feed, accommodate, rebook or refund.
Compensation in money for what the disruption cost you comes from the Código de Defesa do Consumidor (CDC, Law 8.078/1990) and is decided by courts. Knowing which layer you are in saves time.
Information
The airline must tell you immediately about a delay, cancellation or interruption, update the new departure time at least every 30 minutes, and give the reason in writing if you ask (Art. 20).
A planned schedule change must be notified at least 72 hours ahead. If the change exceeds 30 minutes on a domestic flight or 1 hour on an international one and you do not accept it, you may choose rebooking or a full refund (Art. 12).
Material assistance (Arts. 26–27)
Assistance is free, is owed whatever the cause, and applies even if you are already on board with the doors open.
| Waiting time | What the airline must provide |
|---|---|
| More than 1 hour | Communication facilities (until 25 October 2026) |
| More than 2 hours | Food: a meal or an individual voucher |
| More than 4 hours | Hotel if you must stay overnight, plus transfers both ways |
For each situation on a flight within Brazil: delayed flight, cancelled flight and denied boarding.
If you live in the city of the departure airport, the airline may offer transport home and back instead of a hotel (Art. 27, § 1). Passengers needing special assistance get accommodation regardless of an overnight stay (Art. 27, § 2).
Good to know
From 26 October 2026, Resolution 813/2026 revokes the one-hour communication item. It adds Article 27-B: where airport limitations or lack of local suppliers make assistance impossible, the airline may instead reimburse your necessary, documented spending on food, transport and lodging within seven days.
Keep receipts.
Rebooking, refund or another mode of transport
Under Article 21 the choice is yours when:
- the delay exceeds four hours;
- the flight is cancelled or the service interrupted;
- you are denied boarding;
- you miss a connection because of the airline.
Rebooking is free, on the airline’s own flight or another airline’s at the first opportunity, or on the airline’s own flight at a date you choose (Art. 28).
A refund is due within seven days of the request, by the original means of payment (Art. 29). It is full if requested at the origin airport, and also at a stopover with return to origin (Art. 30).
Watch out
Credit instead of money needs your agreement (Art. 31).
Denied boarding (Arts. 22–24)
The airline must first look for volunteers and negotiate with them (Art. 23). If you are refused against your will, it must pay at once:
| Flight | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Domestic | 250 SDR |
| International | 500 SDR |
This is in addition to Article 21 and to material assistance. See denied boarding.
Baggage (Arts. 32–34)
Report a missing bag to the airline immediately (Art. 32, § 1).
- The airline has 7 days to return it on a domestic flight and 21 days on an international one, and must then compensate you within 7 more days (Art. 32, §§ 2–3).
- Away from home, you can reclaim interim expenses within 7 days of presenting receipts (Art. 33).
- On international flights the Montreal Convention cap applies to material loss.
Deadline
Damage or tampering must be reported within 7 days of receiving the bag (Art. 32, § 4).
More in lost baggage and, on a domestic flight, lost or damaged baggage.
Damages under the CDC
Airlines are strictly liable for service failures (Art. 14, CDC). Two points shape current case law:
- Moral damages are not automatic. Article 251-A of the Código Brasileiro de Aeronáutica (added by Law 14.034/2020) requires proof that harm actually occurred and of its extent.
- Article 256, § 3 of the same code lists events treated as force majeure, such as adverse weather restricting take-off or landing, unavailable airport infrastructure and orders from aviation authorities. In Tema 1417 the Supreme Federal Court is examining whether the rules on air transport prevail over consumer protection rules for civil liability for flights cancelled, changed or delayed by force majeure. The court’s page for the theme, opened on 16 October 2026, records general repercussion and shows no ruling on the merits.
What the law says about proof of harm is in moral damages for a flight delay.
The STF pages for Tema 210 (limits on compensation for lost baggage under the Warsaw Convention, RE 636.331, final judgment recorded on 13/12/2022) and Tema 1240 (conflict between the CDC and the Warsaw Convention over moral damages in international air transport, RE 1394401, final judgment recorded on 05/08/2023), opened on 16 October 2026, describe the questions but do not show the thesis. Read the judgments before relying on it.
Where to complain
- The airline’s own channel (Art. 35 requires one).
- Anac Passageiro, ANAC’s service that forwards the complaint to the airline, which answers you directly within up to 10 calendar days. ANAC says it does not act on individual cases.
- consumidor.gov.br, a public service in which registered companies answer within 10 days.
- The Juizado Especial Cível: claims up to 40 minimum wages, no lawyer needed up to 20 (Arts. 3 and 9, Law 9.099/1995).
The full sequence is in how to claim and, for flights within Brazil, in how to complain about an airline in Brazil.
Time limits
| Claim | Time limit | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic flight | 5 years | Art. 27, CDC |
| International, material damages | 2 years | Art. 35, Montreal Convention |
| International, moral damages | See STF Tema 1240 | The STF page does not show the thesis |