Overview
- The justice specified that only cases tied to external events qualify, including adverse weather, airport infrastructure unavailability, or restrictions by aviation or public authorities.
- Lawsuits alleging maintenance, crew issues or other provider-controlled faults are not stayed and should continue moving through the courts.
- The ruling integrates the nationwide stay issued under Theme 1,417 and anchors the definition of external force majeure in Article 256, paragraph 3, of the Brazilian Aeronautics Code.
- The clarification follows appeals from Brasilcon and a party in the case after judges broadly paused actions beyond the intended scope.
- The underlying dispute, brought by Azul, over whether the Consumer Defense Code or the Aeronautics Code governs passenger damage claims remains pending with no set date, as the sector cites rising litigation costs reported by ANAC.