Brazilian carrier Voepass has filed for bankruptcy protection, attributing its financial woes largely to the suspension of its flight operations. The airline pointed to actions caused by LATAM Airlines as a key factor contributing to its current financial position.
Within court documents, the Chilian carrier is identified as the “principal cause” of Voepass' financial crisis due to its “significant control” and influence over its operations and its failure to fulfil “financial obligations”.
"The principal responsibility for Voepass' economic-financial crisis and the related request for judicial recovery is LATAM, which exerted significant control over the commercial relationship between the parties and failed to fulfil important financial obligations,” Voepass stated.
Voepass also stated that LATAM suspended operations of four Voepass ATR aircraft used for a codeshare agreement and withheld payments.
"LATAM opted to suspend the activities of four of Voepass' aircraft, leading to a significant loss of revenue for Voepass." The airline stated.
The court document claims that LATAM illegally withheld payments owed to Voepass for the maintenance of grounded aircraft, amounting to approximately 35 million Brazilian Reals ($6.1 million), with monthly increments of 8 million Reals ($1.4 million).
Airline Economics has contacted LATAM for comment.
It is a been a difficult year for Voepass, an airline which has come under increased scrutiny following the crash of one of its aircraft in August last year.
On August 9, 2024, a Voepass ATR 72-500 aircraft crashed north of Sao Paulo, claiming the lives of 62 people on board, including 58 passengers and four crew members. A preliminary report found signs of ice buildup on the plane but no definite cause.
Following this in October 2024, Brazilian aviation regulator ANAC imposed measures such as reducing the airlines network, increasing the ground time of aircraft with a view to maintenance, changing administrators, and executing the action plan for the correction of irregularities were required by ANAC.
In March of this year ANAC suspended the operations of Voepass as a precautionary measure, citing a failing to meet safety standards.
The airline has previously filed for bankruptcy protection in both October 2012 and in August 2017.