Avianca Brazil grounded by regulator

Brazil’s civil aviation authority ANAC has suspended the operations of Avianca Brazil, dealing what could be the final blow to the airline which has operated under bankruptcy protection since Dec 2018. ANAC says that it has decided “to suspend all operations of Avianca Brazil as a precautionary measure”. It adds that all flights will remain halted until the carrier proves its ability to ensure safe operations, saying that the decision was made based on information provided by ANAC's operational flight safety department. This decision to ground Avianca Brazil throws into uncertainty the airline's plans to auction off assets in a court-supervised process to pay off debt, as a prolonged grounding might void the carrier's slots and route authorities. These rights are considered public assets awarded to airlines temporarily, conditioned on utilisation. <br/>