The group’s destination was Belo Horizonte, but technical problems with the aircraft caused the flight to be canceled
A group of 158 deported people, including 88 Brazilians, spent the night in a lounge at Eduardo Gomes international airport, in Manaus, after the cancellation of the flight that would take them to Belo Horizonte.
Initially, the deportees would be received by the Federal Police at 8 pm on Friday (24) at Confins Airport, in the capital of Minas Gerais, to receive assistance and officially enter the country.
However, technical problems on the aircraft of the American company GlobalX caused the cancellation of the final part of the trip, between Manaus and BH.
Turmoil in flight
They realize that the plane landed in Manaus to do just one refueling. However, during the procedure, there were technical problems with the air conditioning. The heat inside the aircraft caused complaints from passengers, leading to a riot among passengers.
As the aircraft was undergoing maintenance, it was necessary to activate the plane’s emergency stairs. The crew considered that the situation presented did not allow the flight to Belo Horizonte to be resumed. Therefore, the trip was cancelled.
New plane
In the early hours of this Saturday (25), the head of the Federal Police of Manaus confirmed that the American authorities will send a new aircraft to ensure the transport of passengers to the capital of Minas Gerais, where they will be received by customs authorities.
The expectation is that the plane will arrive in the early afternoon to make the final leg of the trip to Belo Horizonte.
Assistance
While awaiting the outcome of the deportation process, passengers will have basic assistance from Manaus city hall. To CNN Brasil, the municipal administration reported sending mattresses and gallons of water to assist people.
A company that supplies water to the municipality was activated, in addition to several areas of the city hall. The PF superintendence in Manaus and members of the Manaus city council are also in contact.
The US embassy in Brazil has not yet commented on what happened.
