Brazil's aviation authorities tighten passenger docs and block foreign cabotage proposals

Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) issued a directive requiring airlines to accept digital versions of birth certificates for boarding domestic flights in Rio Grande do Sul. The measure follows incidents where children were denied travel despite having legally valid electronic certificates, which have risen from 2,365 in 2020 to 113,601 in 2025 – a 4,700% increase. The digital documents include QR‑code security features that enable immediate authenticity verification, and they can be obtained from more than 400 civil registries or online.

At the same time, Brazil's airline workers' union (SNA), the airline association (Abear), and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots (IFALPA) are mobilising against Bill PL 539/2024, which would permit foreign carriers to operate domestic flights in the Amazon Legal region. The groups argue that the bill creates an unprecedented regulatory exception that threatens national sovereignty, drug‑trafficking control, operational safety, and labor conditions. The proposal has passed the Chamber of Deputies and is now under Senate review, prompting the SNA to pledge continued lobbying to halt the measure.

Sidnei Hofer Birmann, president of the Rio Grande do Sul Registry Association, said the ANAC guidance “expands legal certainty and predictability for passengers using digital certificates, especially in cases involving travel with children.”