Lisbon, Sept. 16, 2026 (Lusa) - The Brazilian airline GOL is launching a route between Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon on Wednesday, aiming to capitalise on growing tourism between Portugal and Brazil and position the Brazilian city as a regional gateway.
«Although the figures are already substantial, I believe the potential is much greater,» GOL's commercial vice-president, Mateus Pongeluppi, told Lusa, arguing that Portugal and Brazil can «achieve much more together».
«Not only because of the cultural aspect, which has linked our peoples for hundreds of years, but also because each country has come to know the other better,» he emphasised, on the sidelines of an event organised by the Brazilian airline to launch the new route.
The new route will launch with four weekly flights, increasing to five on 24 November, operated by Airbus A330 aircraft with a capacity of around 300 passengers, and the airline aims to make the service daily in the future.
«The next step is for us to review this operation and strive until it runs at least daily,» said Mateus Pongeluppi, adding that the airline also aims to fly to and from Porto.
GOL currently connects Rio de Janeiro to more than 25 cities and concentrates around 70% of its services at the international airport, enabling Portuguese passengers to continue their journey to other Brazilian destinations, as well as to Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
«Making Rio de Janeiro a gateway is extremely important, not only because of its historical roots, but also because Rio already offers a ‘lifestyle' experience, with nature and incredible cultural and gastronomic opportunities,» he said.
To become more competitive, the airline will offer stopovers in Rio de Janeiro of up to three nights before connecting tourists to other routes.
«The idea is that we can really help these regions connect more closely,» he said, also highlighting the partnership with TAP to link this network to Portugal and other European destinations.
The airline expects the new route to exceed an 80% load factor during its first few weeks of operation – a level which, according to Mateus Pongeluppi, is already being seen in bookings.
The route to Lisbon marks GOL's entry into the European market during this phase of international expansion, in the year in which the Brazilian airline celebrates 25 years in business.
Portuguese visitors have once again overtaken the French as the leading European tourists in Brazil, totalling around 178,000 by July, an increase of 25% compared with the same period last year, Embratur's chief executive told Lusa.
Conversely, in addition to the thousands of Brazilian immigrants living in Portugal, the country welcomed 534,379 Brazilian visitors in the first half of the year, up 5.2% year-on-year, generating 1.18 million overnight stays and record revenue of €657.13 million.
According to data from Turismo de Portugal provided to Lusa, the number of overnight stays by tourists from Brazil rose by 7% between January and June, whilst revenue grew by 18.4% compared with the same period in 2025.
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