Rebel passengers allowed home
French tourists arrested for starting a rebellion on a flight from São Paulo to Paris are allowed home after 11 weeks
A GROUP of French tourists accused of starting a rebellion on a plane in Brazil have been allowed to return home after 11 weeks.
The two men and a woman were arrested in São Paulo on December 7 for causing unrest on the TAM flight to Paris after it was stuck on the ground for four hours because of technical difficulties.
Fearing a repeat of the Air France crash over the Atlantic last June, the three passengers panicked. Announcements were made in English and Portuguese, but not in French and the misunderstanding escalated into a rebellion.
The airline said it had called police because the group were putting the flight in danger and had tried to enter the cockpit.
The three tourists were detained for a few days and then released on police bail with their passports confiscated until the trial date. They spent Christmas away from their families.
A court in São Paulo ordered the two men, Michel Ilinskas and Antonio Nascimento, to pay a fine of $2,800 and $1,400 respectively.
The arrested woman, Emilie Camus, was released without charge.
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