FAB wants to start repatriation operation in Lebanon on Wednesday
A Brazilian Air Force (FAB) plane is scheduled to take off from Rio de Janeiro, this Wednesday (2), bound for Lebanon to repatriate Brazilians who are in the country if the country’s airspace remains open. The initial forecast is that 220 Brazilians will be brought back to Brazil on this first flight. The operation has been coordinated by the FAB, Ministry of Defense and Itamaraty.
The KC-30 aircraft, an Airbus A330-200 passenger plane, is scheduled to depart from Galeão Air Base (BAGL), in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), bound for an airport in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. According to the FAB, there is also a stopover in Lisbon, Portugal. In principle, the flight should return to Brazil during the weekend, but the return is subject to the situation in the region.
For experts, however, the plan could undergo changes or even be suspended, due to the start of air attacks in the region that could result in the closure of airspace and make flights impossible. Until this Tuesday, Beirut airport continued to operate and operate with commercial flights despite neighboring neighborhoods having been hit by Israeli bombers.
“The crew will be composed, in addition to the aircraft’s operational crew, by military personnel from the health sector (doctor, nurse, psychologist), who will be ready to provide the necessary support during the mission”, informed the FAB.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, also stated that, within a queue waiting for repatriation, priority will be given to the elderly, women, children, people in emergency situations and those in need of medical assistance. There are also logistics so that members of the same family are not separated.
Interlocutors from Itamaraty have also reinforced that the Brazilian population who live in Lebanon and are able to return to Brazil by commercial flights, should give preference to the traditional method and the Brazilian government will assist those who are unable to do so.
The escalation of tension in the Middle East motivated Itamaraty, which has already received requests from more than three thousand people to be repatriated, to begin the process of removing Brazilians who are in the region. The conflict intensified after the simultaneous explosion of thousands of Hezbollah members’ communication devices on September 20.
Two Brazilian teenagers died amid Israeli bombings in Lebanon: Mirna Raef Nasser, aged 16, was from Balneário Camboriú (SC), and Ali Kamal Abdallah, aged 15, from Foz do Iguaçu (PR). Itamaraty estimates that 21 thousand Brazilians live in Lebanon.
