Logistic Chaos: Operational Issues at Guarulhos International Airport Affect Supply Chain

Guarulhos International Airport is one of the main points for the loading and unloading of products by air in Brazil. With a month containing three holidays, two national and one regional, combined with Black Friday and two system failures - one from customs and another from the airport itself - hundreds of cargoes and products have accumulated, including outside the cargo terminal. 

Images circulating on social media in recent days show the exterior of the loading and unloading area with dozens of pallets exposed to the weather. Contacted by the REsource team, GRU Airport, the private company that manages the airport, stated that the situation is under control and everything will be normalized soon. 

"GRU Airport, the concessionaire of São Paulo International Airport in Guarulhos, reports that due to the November holidays that contributed to the retention of stored cargo and the intermittence of the cargo and transit control system (CCT/import) at the beginning of the month, the processing of goods in the receiving, storage, and release areas has become slower. The concessionaire emphasizes that daily operations are regularized and executes a contingency plan aligned with the authorities, airlines, and customers to address the retained balance," it said in a statement. 

Contrary to what the concessionaire claims, the situation does not seem to be easily resolved. Since November 20, the National Union of Federal Revenue Auditors of Brazil (Sindifisco) has called for a strike to comply with the Fundaf (Special Fund for the Development and Improvement of Inspection Activities) Implementation Plan and to change the text of Decree 11,545/2023. 

In addition, the exposed cargoes are at risk of being lost and damaged, something that is already happening, according to Matheus*, a service provider at the airport who is closely monitoring the events. 

"Planes don't stay in the air waiting for things to be fixed here. So, the cargoes kept coming and piling up, GRU couldn't receive the cargoes precisely because of these errors in the airport and Federal Revenue system," he reveals. 

Matheus says that some cargoes have been sitting for more than two weeks, something that is impossible in normal times. One of the major reported problems was the large volume of cargo re-labeling; the labels are printed with thermal ink, and exposure to the elements causes the ink to fade, which can result in the products not being identified. 

"It's absurd that in the largest airport in Brazil, cargoes are stuck in the middle of the runway, exposed to sun and rain. It can be a sensitive component, triggering a problem when the importer receives the cargo and sees the condition of the goods. They will have to activate insurance, go through a process. It's a whole chain of problems caused by GRU's failure," Matheus laments. 

AFKLMP, the company that handles cargo operations for Air France, KLM, and Martinair, announced that they have temporarily suspended operations at the airport. German Lufthansa Cargo also reported that it suspended operations and is redirecting its shipments. 

Customs and tax lawyer specializing in foreign trade, Sidnei Lostado of Lostado & Calomino Sociedade de Advogados, states that this situation is delicate and, if necessary, can be resolved in court. 

"There are already quite a few cases today regarding this. They [cargo transportation companies] want injunctions, they want preference in cargo release, and they also want to file a lawsuit to request the reimbursement of storage fees. For example, when I request a cargo and there is an obstacle and they don't deliver it to me, so they [the airport] cannot charge me for the extra storage period, for an error that is not mine. Understand? So there may be a request for reimbursement of fees," explains Lostado. 

Contacted by the reporting team, the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) did not comment by the time of this report's closure. We also contacted Sindifisco, which did not respond to our inquiries.