Levu Transporte Aéreo e Logística, known as Levu Air Cargo, washttps://www.aeronautas.org.br/sna-aciona-a-justica-contra-o-grupo-levu-por-atraso-de-salarios-e-nao-pagamento-de-verbas-rescisorias/ a Brazilian cargo airline headquartered in Campinas, São Paulo. The company established a strategic partnership with DHL Supply Chain in 2024 to support domestic air freight operations in Brazil. Operations were temporarily suspended in March 2025.
History Establishment (2022-2024) Levu Air Cargo was founded in May 2022 to meet Brazil's growing air cargo transportation demand. Initially, the airline announced its intention to be headquartered in Recife, Pernambuco, using Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport as its main base of operations, with a fleet of four Airbus A321-200PCF and Airbus A330-300P2F aircraft. The initial investment to found the new airline was R$55 million reais (US$10.9 million).
In mid-2022, the airline began its process to obtain its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) by the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC).
On April 2, 2024, Levu Air Cargo launched its official website, presenting images of aircraft with its painting scheme and the map of planned routes and destinations, including Belém, Campinas/Viracopos, Manaus, Recife and São Paulo/Guarulhos, in the domestic market, in addition to Bogotá, Colombia, Miami, United States and Paris/Châlons Vatry, France, as international destinations.
Partnership with DHL Supply Chain In May 2024, DHL Supply Chain announced a strategic partnership with Levu Air Cargo to launch a domestic air freight solution in Brazil. Through the agreement, the German company invested EUR 90.5 million to, together with the airline, expand its operations in the country. Thus, Levu will be responsible for the domestic air operations of DHL Express and its partners, with the planes operating in the colors of the German carrier.
For its part, Levu announced an investment of US$103 million to incorporate four aircraft into its fleet, which will be operated for DHL in Brazil, including the first A321PCF in Latin America, leased from Latvia-based SmartLynx Airlines.
On May 10, 2024, Levu received its first aircraft, the Airbus A321PCF registration PS-LVU ( 775), previously operated in Europe for DHL Aviation by SmartLynx. The aircraft arrived in Brazil with the colors of the new airline, in addition to the rear section and tail in yellow, with the DHL logo, reinforcing the strategic partnership between the two companies. The airline also reserved the aeronautical registration for its second aircraft and first wide-body in the fleet, the A330-300P2F registration PR-LVU ( 1146), which is in the process of being converted from passenger to cargo in France.
On May 22, 2024, Levu Air Cargo announced a strategic partnership with Aeroporto Brasil Viracopos (ABV), the concessionaire that manages Viracopos International Airport, in Campinas, choosing the airport as its main hub. On the occasion, the airline presented its ready-made facilities at the airport's Cargo Terminal (TECA).
On November 7, 2024, Levu Air Cargo received its Air Operator Certificate, AOC No. 2024-11-0LVU-01-00, from ANAC, giving it the green light to begin its domestic cargo flights. The Ordinance 15,806, of November 7, 2024 was published in the Diary of the Union (Diário Oficial da União, in Portuguese) on the same day.
As of March 2025, Levu Air Cargo temporarily suspended its operations. However, the company is actively preparing to resume its activities, as reported by AeroIN.
Flight operations (2024-2026) On November 12, 2024, Levu Air Cargo carried out its first commercial flight, taking off from its main hub at Viracopos International Airport, fulfilling flight LVU9000 towards Guararapes Gilberto Freyre International Airport, in Recife.
In March 2025, Levu Air Cargo temporarily suspended its operations after its sole aircraft, an Airbus A321F, experienced a technical issue. The aircraft remained grounded in Manaus for over five months before being transferred to São José dos Campos for maintenance at DIGEX facilities. Levu Air Cargo has confirmed its intention to resume operations following the completion of repairs and is also planning to expand its fleet with a second aircraft.
The SNA filed a civil lawsuit against Levu Transporte Aéreo e Logística de Cargas S/A, also known as Levu Air Cargo, in the Labor Court, in addition to including in the process the economic group and the partners linked to the company, and DHL Express Ltda, the company's commercial partner. Since 2025, the SNA had received complaints from aeronauts about repeated delays in the payment of salaries and FGTS. The situation worsened from May 2026, with the company failing to pay salaries for May, June and July, in addition to failing to comply with an out-of-court agreement signed with its own employees in April. On August 26, 2026, Levu also dismissed part of the crew, under the justification of "fleet demobilization", without paying the corresponding severance payments to date. Faced with the company's financial instability, with imminent risk of bankruptcy, the SNA urgently requested the judicial blocking of amounts in Levu's accounts to guarantee the payment of labor credits, in addition to the immediate release of FGTS and unemployment insurance to the dismissed aeronauts. In the lawsuit, the SNA also requested the condemnation of the company and the economic group to pay all back wages, FGTS in arrears, severance payments and legal fines due to the category. The complaints made by the company's aeronauts constitute a repeated and serious breach of contract, with direct damage to the subsistence of the workers, since salary and FGTS are of a food nature.
Destinations Levu Air Cargo operates cargo services to the following destinations in Brazil (as of November 2024): State City Airport NotesAmazonasManausEduardo Gomes International AirportStarted on November 15, 2024PernambucoRecifeGilberto Freyre International AirportStarted on November 12, 2024São PauloCampinas Viracopos International Airport
Fleet , Levu Air Cargo operates the following aircraft: + Aircraft Out of Service Orders Passengers NoteAirbus A321-200PCF1Cargostored, shared with DHL Aviation.Total1
See also List of defunct airlines of Brazil
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