Rio helicopter tour safety: how to check the company and the aircraft

At a glance

Who may fly tourists in Brazil

A paid helicopter sightseeing flight is called SAE-panorâmico in Brazilian rules. RBAC 136 (Regulamento Brasileiro da Aviação Civil) has governed it since July 1, 2020. Only a company holding a certificate (COA) and operating specifications (EO) for panoramic flights, both issued by ANAC, may offer and operate these flights. Air taxi companies certified under RBAC 135 may also fly sightseeing trips under the requirements of their own certificate. A private helicopter without either certificate is outside the rules, and we do not book it.

What RBAC 136 requires

Routes over the sea

When a route goes beyond autorotation distance from the coastline, the briefing must also cover ditching, where the life vests are and how to put them on and inflate them, and how to leave the aircraft on water. A single-engine helicopter flying over water beyond the coast needs fixed floats or an inflatable flotation system. Without floats it may only fly within autorotation distance of the shore, with a life vest for each occupant. The operator’s manual describes how this distance is calculated before each flight.

How to look up the aircraft in RAB Online

Ask the company for two things: its legal name and the registration of the helicopter you will fly in.

Under RBAC 45, the registration is painted on the underside of the fuselage or cabin and on both sides of the cabin, engine cowling or tail boom. It is made of a nationality mark (PP, PR, PS, PT or PU), a hyphen and three registration letters.

Then:

1. Open ANAC’s RAB Online (Registro Aeronáutico Brasileiro).
2. Search by registration mark (matrícula).
3. Read the aircraft record: owner and operator, technical data and airworthiness status.

The company selling the flight should be the operator in the record. If another company appears, ask why before you pay.

The VOO PANORÂMICO marking

Under RBAC 45 (amendment of July 8, 2026), a helicopter operated for panoramic flights carries the words VOO PANORÂMICO on the outside, near the main passenger door, in capital letters 5 to 15 cm high, in a color that contrasts with the background and readable with the door open. Air taxi aircraft under RBAC 135 carry TRANSPORTE PÚBLICO instead. They may also fly tourists and carry passengers point to point; for a flight from the airport to your hotel, see the helicopter transfer.

The marking alone is not proof. If an authorization stops, the rules give the company 7 days to remove the words, or 30 days after a suspension, so check the registry too.

Questions to ask before you pay

• What is the company’s legal name, and is it certified under RBAC 136 or RBAC 135?
• Is the certificate valid on your flight date?
• Which aircraft will you fly in, and what is its registration?
• Where do you take off and land? On a sightseeing flight it is the same point.
• Does the route go over the sea? If yes, does the aircraft have floats, or a life vest for each person?
• Is there a briefing before takeoff, and in which language?
• Does the company have valid R.E.T.A. insurance?
• What happens if the weather does not allow the flight?

What to tell us in your request

• Your preferred date and a backup date
• How many people will fly, and the approximate weight of each passenger if the operator asks
• Which views you want: Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf, the beaches, a longer coastal route
• Your hotel area, so we plan the ride to the heliport
• Whether the flight is part of a proposal, an anniversary or a New Year’s trip

How we help

When you book through us, we do the checks above for you:

• We confirm the company’s authorization on your flight date.
• We find the aircraft in the RAB and check that the operator matches and the airworthiness status.
• We check the marking and ask for the COA and current R.E.T.A. insurance.
• We confirm the pilot’s commercial licence and medical certificate, and floats or vests for routes over water.
• If something does not match, we offer another option where everything does.

We send the company’s name once the booking is confirmed, so you can check it yourself. How we vet every provider: how we vet providers. Routes and flight lengths: helicopter tours in Rio. Terms and payment are set out in the proposal; you pay nothing before you confirm.