The first Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aircraft with Brazilians who were in Israel landed in Brasília this Wednesday (11), at around 4:08 am.
The landing took place at the Brasília Air Base (BABR), as part of the federal government’s “Operation Returning in Peace”.
211 Brazilians were brought, rescued from the war in Israel, which began in the early hours of last Saturday (7), after an attack by the extremist group Hamas.
The vehicle called KC-30, an airbus A330-200, took off from Tel Aviv at 2:12 pm (Brasília time) on Tuesday (10), having completed around 14 hours of flight.
What happens now
After resolving customs issues, repatriates with their final destination in Brasília will be directed to the domestic area of the Federal District International Airport.
Passengers bound for Rio de Janeiro will be transported on two FAB aircraft, a KC-390 Millennium and C-99, to the Galeão air base.
Other aircraft
In addition to the aircraft that arrived in Brazil this morning, four other FAB planes will bring Brazilians who asked to be repatriated back from Israel.
In a digital form made available by Itamaraty, 2,500 people, the majority of whom were tourists staying in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, signaled that they wanted to leave Israel in FAB rescues.
Among them, 25 Brazilians would be in Gaza, according to sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With borders closed, the Brazilian government is contacting the embassy in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, to try to remove these people from the country.
Interlocutors claim that, as the Gaza Strip is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, Itamaraty is trying to contact the Islamic group to negotiate repatriation.
Brazilian repatriation process
Repatriation follows priority criteria. Those who live in Brazil and do not have a return plane ticket are the first.
Itamaraty recommends that everyone who has airline tickets or who can purchase them board commercial flights from Ben Gurion International Airport, in Tel Aviv, the largest terminal in Israel, to free up seats on FAB aircraft.
Around 14 thousand Brazilians live in Israel, and 6 thousand in Palestine, according to Itamaraty estimates, with the majority outside the conflict area.
Repatriation flight schedule
The second KC-30 aircraft took off from Brasília on Monday (9) at 4:20 pm (Brasília time) – also carrying five doctors, two nurses and a psychologist – to assist in the rescue, in an action called Operation Returning in Peace.
The third FAB plane took off to rescue Brazilians on Tuesday afternoon (10). The KC-390 model has capacity for 60 passengers and is scheduled to leave Tel Aviv at 12pm on Thursday (12). The aircraft is expected to arrive at Guarulhos airport, in São Paulo, at 11am on Friday (13).
Source: CNN Brasil
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