Brazilian carrier GOL launches direct flights between Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro
Brazilian airline GOL has entered the European market with a new direct route connecting Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, a link it hopes to make daily as demand builds. The route, which launched on 16 September 2026, begins with four flights per week and will increase to five weekly frequencies from 24 November 2026, operated on Airbus A330 aircraft carrying roughly 300 passengers.
Mateus Pongeluppi, GOL's commercial vice-president, told news agency Lusa that Portugal and Brazil can "achieve much more together", citing centuries-old cultural ties and growing mutual familiarity between the two countries. The inaugural flight from Lisbon carried almost 300 passengers, suggesting strong initial demand.
What the route offers passengers
The flights run on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with a Tuesday service added in late November 2026. GOL operates the route initially with an Airbus A330 leased from Wamos Air, with plans to use its own A330neo aircraft from February 2027.
The Brazilian carrier connects Rio de Janeiro to more than 25 domestic destinations and holds around 70% of capacity at the international airport. Passengers from Portugal can connect onwards to other Brazilian cities, as well as to Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
GOL will offer stopovers of up to three nights in Rio de Janeiro, allowing tourists to explore the city before continuing to other destinations. Pongeluppi highlighted the city's appeal as an entry point: "Bringing Rio de Janeiro as a gateway is super important, for historical roots, but also because Rio already brings together an entry with lifestyle, nature and incredible cultural and gastronomic opportunities."
Partnership with TAP and future ambitions
The airline has an existing codeshare agreement with TAP Air Portugal, which currently allows TAP customers to book GOL-operated domestic flights within Brazil. GOL aims to deepen this partnership, using TAP's network to distribute passengers across Europe while offering South American connectivity in return.
GOL has also expressed support for TAP's reprivatisation process, underscoring the Portuguese carrier's importance to Brazil.
Pongeluppi made clear the company's ambitions: "The next step, we need to look at this operation and not settle until it is at least daily." He added that GOL hopes to eventually fly to and from Porto, though no concrete plans have been announced.
Context: growing travel between Portugal and Brazil
The route launch coincides with a surge in travel between the two countries. Portuguese tourists have overtaken the French as the leading European visitors to Brazil, reaching 178,000 arrivals by July 2026 — a 25% increase year-on-year, according to Embratur's director-president.
In the opposite direction, Brazil sent 534,379 guests to Portugal in the first half of 2026, up 5.2% from the same period in 2025. These visitors generated 1.18 million overnight stays and record revenues of €657.13 million, according to Turismo de Portugal. Overnight stays by Brazilian tourists rose 7% between January and June 2026, while revenues grew 18.4%.
GOL, which marks its 25th year of operations in 2026, selected Lisbon as its European entry point. The company is also evaluating Paris as a potential destination, along with cities in Spain and Italy.
