Two layers, and why you need both
Read Azul's contract and the country's statutory floor together, because the higher of the two is what you can claim.
Every Azul disruption sits under two sets of rules at once. The first is Azul's own contract of carriage, clause 6.4, which spells out the assistance ladder above, communication, food, lodging, and the rebooking-or-refund choice, by how long you wait. The second is the statutory floor of the country you departed from, which Azul cannot go below. For most Azul flights that floor is Brazil's Resolução 400, and Azul's contract deliberately mirrors its thresholds, so the two line up.
Where it gets easy to get wrong is an international departure. Leave from the United States and US tarmac-delay handling applies, food and water within two hours on the tarmac, status updates every 30 minutes, and the option to deplane after four hours, subject to safety and air-traffic-control limits. Leave from Europe and EC 261 applies, with its own compensation logic. South America follows the local law where the incident happens. The practical lesson: never read a single figure off one page and assume it governs your flight, because the rulebook changes with the airport you left from. That is exactly the check we run before telling you what you're owed.
Rebooking or refund: making the right call fast
On a long delay or a cancellation you usually get to choose, and the better choice depends on your trip.
For a delay over four hours, a cancellation, or denied boarding, Azul generally lets you choose between a rebooking on the next available flight and a full refund of the ticket, even on a restricted fare. The instinct is to take the rebooking because it feels like progress, but it is not always the right move. If the delay has already broken the reason for the trip, a wedding you'll now miss, a cruise that has sailed, a meeting that's over, the refund is worth more than a seat to a place you no longer need to be.
The next flights fill in minutes during a big disruption. A rebooking we arrange by phone usually beats standing in an airport line to reach the same agent, so call us the moment you know, not after an hour on your feet.
Accepting the rebooking generally means giving up the cash refund, and vice versa. If your dates are firm, run the numbers before you accept anything at the desk, that is a two-minute call, and it can be the difference between a credit and your money back.
Hold your boarding documents, note the delay length and the reason given, and keep every receipt for meals, a hotel or transport. Those are what turn a vague grievance into a claim the airline actually pays.
Entitlements depend on the cause, the length of the delay and the country you depart from, and these rules change; confirm what applies to your specific flight with Azul and the relevant authority.
Baggage caught up in a disruption
Delayed or lost bags carry their own timelines and liability limits.
If a disruption also separates you from your bag, Azul's contract sets liability limits and return timelines. For lost or damaged baggage, liability runs to about 1,131 DES on domestic flights and 1,288 DES on international ones, under the Montreal Convention framework. A bag treated as lost is generally reported after around seven days on a domestic flight and 21 days on an international one, which is when the claim shifts from "delayed" to "lost".
Practically, report a missing bag before you leave the airport, keep the reference number, and hold receipts for anything essential you have to buy while it's missing. Those receipts feed the same interim-expense logic as a delay, and the sooner the report is filed, the cleaner the claim. If your bag and your flight are both disrupted at once, tell us both, we handle them as one problem rather than two separate fights.
Before you accept anything, the checklist
Six answers now protect the money and the seat you're actually owed.
- Which country did you depart from? Brazil (ANAC 400), the US (tarmac rules) or Europe (EC 261) each change your floor
- How long is the delay? ~1h communication, 2h a meal, 4h lodging plus the rebooking-or-refund choice
- Rebooking or refund? If the trip's reason is gone, the refund may be worth more than the seat
- Were you bumped involuntarily? Claim the 250 DES (domestic) or 500 DES (international) on top of your choice
- Did you pay out of pocket? Keep every receipt for meals, hotel and transport
- Is your bag caught up too? Report it before you leave the airport and keep the reference number
Call before you queue, and keep every receipt. During a disruption the two things that cost travelers most are waiting in a line to reach an agent we could have reached by phone, and throwing away the receipts that turn a delay into a paid claim. When you call us, we pin the right rulebook for your departure country, work the rebooking or refund while seats last, and make sure any denied-boarding DES compensation is actually claimed, not lost in the shuffle.
Frequently asked
What does Azul owe me if my flight is delayed?+
Can I get a refund instead of a rebooking when Azul cancels?+
How much is Azul's denied-boarding compensation?+
Does it matter which country my Azul flight departs from?+
Contact options
Reach Azul directly, or let us work the rebooking or refund with you.
Contact Azul directly
The airline's own channels, free.
These are Azul's own channels. Confirm current delay and compensation rules at voeazul.com.br and with the relevant authority.