Brazilian airline Voepass files for bankrupcty, blames LATAM for financial woes

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

By Luciana Magalhaes

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil’s Voepass, a privately held airline, filed for bankruptcy protection late on Tuesday according to court documents, citing the actions of Chile-based LATAM Airlines as a major reason for its financial crisis.

Voepass, which claims a total debt of about 209.2 million reais ($36.78 million), has been facing difficulties since one of its planes crashed near Sao Paulo in August 2024, killing all 62 people on board.

In the documents seen by Reuters, the regional airline – which has a codeshare agreement with LATAM – accused the carrier of exerting significant influence over their commercial relationship and failing to meet financial obligations.

In a statement made public on Wednesday afternoon, LATAM said it vehemently repudiates Voepass’s claims attributing its financial crisis to LATAM. The airline also said the termination of the commercial partnership with Voepass was mainly motivated by the 2024 air accident.

According to the legal documents filed by Voepass, LATAM suspended operations of four Voepass ATR aircraft used for the codeshare agreement and withheld payments following the 2024 crash.

“Despite this dispute already being the subject of arbitration, the fact is that LATAM has always exercised enormous administrative interference in the management of Voepass’ business,” the airline said in the court filing.

Voepass had previously undergone bankruptcy proceedings between 2012 and 2017, during which it restructured its operations and finances.

The carrier’s operations were suspended in March by Brazilian aviation regulator ANAC, which cited safety concerns. Voepass in a statement said it was focused on resuming them as soon as possible.

($1 = 5.6884 reais)

(Reporting by Luciana Magalhaes; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)