Azul secures fuel loan of up to 2 billion reais — The Rio Times
Brazilian airline Azul has arranged a loan of up to 2 billion reais, or about $397 million, to purchase aviation fuel for scheduled domestic flights in Brazil. The federal government is covering the transaction’s credit risk through the Brazilian Agency for the Management of Guarantee Funds and Guarantees (ABGF) and the Export Guarantee Fund, The Rio Times reports.
Funds will be used only for fuel
Azul informed the market about the financing on October 24, 2026. The company said the funds would be used exclusively to pay for aviation fuel purchased for scheduled domestic operations. The airline also stated that the loan is intended to strengthen liquidity and provide greater financial flexibility amid fluctuating fuel prices.
The financing was envisaged under Azul’s restructuring plan. The Export Guarantee Fund was created in 1999 to cover state guarantees for export credit insurance. Legislative changes extended its scope to domestic credit insurance for civil aviation and aviation fuel financing.
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High fuel prices restrain recovery
Azul emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings in the United States in February 2026. The company’s chief financial officer, Antonio Carlos Garcia, said that high aviation fuel prices are slowing the carrier’s recovery and putting pressure on its margins.
According to him, Azul reduced its transportation volumes by more than 10% year on year in the second quarter and expects them to be about 5% lower at the end of 2026 than in 2025. The company passed on around 60–65% of the increase in fuel prices to passengers through fares. In August, Azul reported that it had reduced its total debt to 21.4 billion reais, or about $4.25 billion.
This is Azul’s third financing step in less than a month. At the end of September, the company entered into a loan agreement with the Brazilian Development Bank BNDES for up to 2.66 billion reais, and on October 20, American Airlines exercised all of its warrants and received 31.8 million new Azul shares — about 7.9% of shares outstanding.
