Brazil 2014: flights cancelled, delayed or diverted for 16,000 passengers due to security measures

At least 16,000 passengers will have their flights cancelled, delayed or diverted to another airport during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (from 12/06 to 13/07/2014), suggested the Brazilian newspaper O Globo on 16/03/2014. At least 805 flights will be cancelled and another 150 delayed or diverted.

For safety reasons, the department in control of Brazilian airspace decided to limit civilian air traffic to the 12 host cities of the tournament, during the four weeks of competition. Every matchday, only military aircraft will fly within seven kilometres of the stadiums of the World Cup. These areas will be closed to civilian air traffic for a period of seven hours, three hours before the kick-off of matches and for up to four hours after.

These measures affect primarily the Santos Dumont airport in Rio de Janeiro, used for domestic flights, which will be closed on match days and whose flights will be moved to Tom Jobim International Airport. The city will host seven matches of the World Cup, including the final on 13/07/2014 at Maracana stadium. Airports in Belo Horizonte, Cuiaba…