Brazil is going to have another "air bridge" with Europe. This week, Brazilian airline GOL confirmed direct connections to Portugal and France.
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The flights to Lisbon and Paris will be operated by Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, which joined the company's fleet at the beginning of March. With a flight autonomy of up to 15 hours and capacity for 300 passengers, the five A330-900neo aircraft acquired by the company will allow it to expand internationally.
GOL wants to assert itself as an intercontinental airline, expanding operations to more destinations in the USA and Europe. Currently, the company only operates Boeing's 737 MAX models, which limits GOL's international operations to destinations in Latin America and the southern United States, such as Orlando. The Abra Group company wants to connect Galeão (Rio de Janeiro International Airport) to JFK in New York.
In 2025, GOL secured more than 292 slots to operate at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in Porto. However, after learning that it has been authorised to operate at Humberto Delgado, in Lisbon, the Porto operation will have to be postponed.
Speaking to RTP, the company's CEO recognised that it doesn't have enough planes and will therefore have to give priority to the Portuguese capital. "It's the main destination for Brazilians and also the destination most desired by Brazilians from all regions of Brazil," said Celso Ferreira.
Flights to Lisbon are scheduled to start on 16 September, with a frequency of four return flights a week. Details of the connections to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris have not yet been released by the company, but the plan is to start the connections in July 2026.
The Brazilian company is a partner of Portugal's TAP, which has been connecting Portugal and Brazil since the 1960s. GOL operates one of the main hubs at Rio Galeão International Airport. It connects passengers to more than 30 destinations, including five international routes in Latin America.