Economy & Business - June 2025

BRAZIL | Brazilian airline Azul files for bankruptcy. Brazilian airline Azul filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US on 28 May. According to a company statement, Azul has begun a voluntary restructuring process in the US which includes a commitment of US$1.6bn in financing and the elimination of US$2bn of debt. With this latest filing, all three of the dominant players in the Brazil’s aviation sector have filed for Chapter 11 since 2020. In addition to Azul’s filing, the Chile-based airline LATAM was forced into Chapter 11 in 2020 and exited bankruptcy in 2022. Meanwhile, Brazilian airline Gol filed for Chapter 11 in January last year and exited bankruptcy on 6 June this year. In recent months, Azul has also been negotiating a potential merger with Gol, but the bankruptcy filing could impact those talks.