Brazil Court Orders TAP to Pay R$20,000 Over Unsafe Hotel Placement After Flight Cancellation

Overview

• The small-claims ruling found TAP committed an illicit service failure by assigning the passenger to share a hotel room, which the court called an absurd and intolerable situation.
• The incident followed a May 2024 cancellation in Paris, where the traveler was placed with two strangers and later reported defending herself from an attempted sexual assault.
• The judgment states liability stems from the unsafe accommodation itself, independent of any criminal finding, and notes violations of safety, dignity, intimacy and privacy.
• TAP declined to comment on the decision; in a prior statement, the airline said its rules do not place unknown passengers in the same room except in specific cases and that self-arranged lodging costs can be reimbursed.
• The passenger rejected earlier settlement offers reportedly of R$3,000 and R$5,000 and now urges TAP to accept the ruling and review procedures, though an appeal remains possible.