With nowhere to stay, passengers from Itapemirim sleep at an airport

A group of seven passengers from Itapemirim had to sleep at Cumbica airport, in Guarulhos (SP), this Tuesday (21) because there was no other place to spend the night. They had their return flights canceled after the airline announced it was suspending operations.

Without receiving help from the company’s accommodation —only vouchers for lunch and dinner, they say— and with little money to fund a hotel reservation on their own, they improvised a camp at the company’s booth.

When contacted, Itapemirim did not respond until the publication of this report.

Commercial assistant Natália Costa, 32, says that she had a ticket back to Recife scheduled for this Tuesday. “At 7 am I went to the airport [de Cumbica] and I stayed, slept there,” he says.

She says that the only reason she didn’t look for another place to spend the night was because she couldn’t afford it. “There are expenses with transport, hotel, and everything is expensive near here. We can’t afford it”.

This Wednesday morning (22), the commercial assistant decided to go to Congonhas airport to try to solve the problem. Although she is returning to her home —a situation that the ITA said it is prioritizing for re-accommodation with other airlines—, Natalia says that she has not even received the option of returning by bus.

“The only option that came to me was a refund, but I paid R$470 on the ticket. I won’t be able to buy another one for that amount to go back to Recife,” he says.

In the early afternoon, she said she was able to be re-accommodated on another flight.

Recife is also the destination of Fernanda, 53, who asked to have her name changed in the report. She also had to sleep at Guarulhos airport.

His return ticket was scheduled for 4:30 pm on Tuesday, but, in addition to not getting another flight, he says that the option given by ITA was to return by bus on the 25th of the month to arrive home only on the 28th.

​”We ​​spent the night at the Itapemirim booth, everyone lay down on the mats,” he says. “No one was able to sleep anyway, because we were very worried,” he adds.

Like Natália, Fernanda went to Congonhas in the morning, after learning that there was a better support structure there, including the help of Procon employees. As soon as she arrived at the airport, she says she received a call offering to re-accommodate on another airline.

This Wednesday (22), the São Paulo Procon announced that it will fine the ITA for the abrupt suspension of services. According to the agency, the company’s response to their questions did not meet expectations and the fine could reach R$ 11 million.

Also according to Procon, the suspension of the company’s operations affected a total of 133,000 passengers who had contracted services between December 17th and February 17th. The information was provided by columnist Mônica Bergamo.

In a note on the Procon notification, the ITA said it is consulting its legal department and will still not make a statement about it. The company claims that it had to suspend activities due to the stoppage of employees of an outsourced company, and that it intends to resume its activities on February 17, 2022.

Itapemirim also said that more than 25,000 requests for re-accommodation or reimbursement have already been fulfilled and that, in the first two business days after the temporary suspension of its operations, R$ 7.8 million in reimbursement requests with the service providers have already been processed. credit card.

The company advises passengers not to check in online or go to airports before contacting the company. In addition, it provided a chat on its website and a telephone number (0800 723 2121) to serve affected customers, operating between 6 am and 9 pm.