The FAB (Brazilian Air Force) plane with the 1st wave of repatriates from Lebanon arrives this Sunday (Oct 6, 2024) in Brazil. The KC-30 aircraft took off from Beirut, the Lebanese capital, at 1:18 pm (Brasília time) on Saturday (Oct 5) with 229 Brazilians and 3 pets on board.
After a technical stop in Lisbon (Portugal) for refueling, the plane continued to the São Paulo Air Base, in Guarulhos. The landing is expected to be at 9:30 am (Brasília time). Returnees will be received by the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
The KC-30 model had been on Portuguese soil since Wednesday (Oct 2), where it was awaiting authorization to go to Lebanon. There was a delay because of increased Israeli bombing of civilian areas – including regions close to the airport. The plane landed in Lebanon at 11:22 am (Brasília time) on Saturday (October 5).
The flight is part of the 1st phase of the federal government’s Operation Raízes do Cedro, for the repatriation of Brazilians. It is estimated that 20,000 Brazilians live in Lebanese territory. Around 3,000 Brazilians in Lebanon expressed interest in repatriation.
Watch the video released by FAB about the 1st repatriation flight from Lebanon:
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FAB CRITERIA
According to the Brazilian Air Force, as determined by the president’s government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), Brazilians chosen to be on flights from Lebanon to Brazil would have to meet some criteria. Elderly people, pregnant women, women, children and the sick or those who do not have the resources to buy an air ticket on a commercial flight would be some of the requirements.
The FAB did not say exactly how the screening was carried out for the approximately 220 Brazilians who boarded the 1st flight that left Beirut on the KC-30 on Saturday (October 5, 2024). Photos published on the Planalto website do not show passengers with clear signs of hyposufficiency (a condition of those who do not have the economic conditions to support themselves).
So far, the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteirodid not disclose the detailed costs of a similar FAB operation in October 2023 (after the Hamas attack on the Jewish country), when Brazilians who were in Israel were brought to Brazil on official flights. There are no clear statistics on how many were repatriated from Israel, the cost of travel and whether all those benefited in fact could not afford to leave the country on commercial flights.
Now, in the same way, José Múcio Monteiro participated in an interview with the media on Thursday (3.Oct.2024) and did not give any type of detailed information about the costs of bringing Brazilians who are in Lebanon.
Until this Sunday (October 6, 2024), there are commercial flights departing from Beirut to São Paulo. When this post was published, Google’s flight options search tool indicated that a flight from Beirut to São Paulo, in economy class, could be purchased for R$8,958.
At this price, 220 tickets would cost Brazilian tax payers R$1.870 million. It is not known whether the KC-30 flight, which took around 30 crew members (according to official photos) to Lebanon, cost more or less than that.
Itamaraty itself reported that it has been recommending people leave that country for months. The recommendations have been intensified in recent weeks. Still, many Brazilians preferred to stay.
The FAB, the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Palácio do Planalto were questioned by the Power360 regarding the operation that intends to bring around 3,000 Brazilians from Lebanon to Brazil.
According to Itamaraty, the 1st criterion is “priorities by law: elderly people, pregnant women, women, children, maintaining the family nucleus”. He declared that “the issue of resources is a recommendation, a matter of common sense and even solidarity with those who do not have the means to leave”.
The bodies did not respond to the other questions sent:
1) Would it be cheaper and faster to buy tickets on commercial flights from Beirut to São Paulo and deliver them to low-income Brazilians in Lebanon?;
2) How much is estimated to be spent to bring the approximately 3,000 Brazilians who expressed interest in leaving Lebanon free of charge on FAB flights?;
3) How much did the FAB operation cost in 2023 to bring Brazilians who wanted to leave Israel? How many flights were carried out and how many people were brought to Brazil last year?
If and when responses are sent to the Power360this digital newspaper will update this post.
OTHER NATIONS
Some countries do like Brazil and send military planes to Lebanon to facilitate the exit of their citizens from that country.
There are cases in which nations work to ask commercial airlines to increase the supply of seats on career flights.
You United Statesfor example, estimate that there are 86,000 citizens living in Lebanon (in comparison, there are around 21,000 Brazilians in that country). So far, the White House has only sent soldiers to Cyprus to help evacuate people, but has not sent military planes to carry out repatriation. The US government, according to the State Department, have been talking with airlines to increase flight frequency and offer more seats for North Americans.
THE United Kingdom decided to charter commercial planes to help the British leave Beirut. Second informed the BBCthe priority was couples with children under 18 and vulnerable people. But the benefit is not free: to get on the flight, each passenger has to pay a fee of 350 pounds per seat –around R$2,500. In 2023, the British government had already done something similar, charging a fee to each citizen who wanted to leave Israel when the Jewish country was attacked by Hamas.
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