Tourists arrested for air rebellion
French passengers panic after airline announces technical problem on Brazil flight
THREE French tourists have been arrested and detained in Brazil for refusing to travel on a plane that was experiencing technical difficulties before take-off.
The two men and a woman - aged between 54 and 63 - were part of a tour group of mostly retired people flying back to Paris after a two-week cruise in the Atlantic.
They had boarded a flight at São Paulo run by Brazilian airline TAM, but take-off was delayed by almost four hours because of an IT problem onboard. Announcements were made in English and Portuguese, but not in French.
Fearing a repeat of the Air France flight from Rio to Paris that crashed in the ocean in June killing everyone on board, the three passengers asked to get off and take another flight. They were told they would have to buy a new ticket.
French consul Sylvain Itté told Europe 1 there had been "a problem of understanding" that degenerated into a rebellion.
He said police had failed to tell the consulate about the arrests and he was informed about the incident by the other passengers in the group.
The three tourists have been in detention since Sunday and are due to appear before a judge shortly.
