In Brazil Latam Airlines is the official airline partner of the Olympic and Paralympic games in Rio de Janeiro 2016, and also the official partner of the Olympic Torch Relay. In a festive ceremony the airline carried the Olympic Fire to Brasília.
A special flight using a Boeing 767-300ER in the new paint took off on 2 May, approaching Brasília on 3 May at about 6.30 am (local time). To draw the attention to the arrival of the Olympic Fire in Brazil, the flight was accompanied by two jets of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
The Olympic Fire was transported in Economy Class in four closed safety lamps, using a specially developed supporting structure to fix the lamps to the aircraft seat and make sure they do not move during the entire long-haul flight. The fire will be used to light the Olympic Torch in Brasília.
The crew on this flight counted four pilots and nine flight attendants, specially trained for the transport of the Olympic Fire. Moreover, each of the four lamps was accompanied by a member of the organisational committee of the 2016 Olympic Games.
The capital city Brasília is the starting point of the Olympic Torch Relay; the finish is in Rio de Janeiro, after more than 300 Brazilian cities were passed. Latam Airlines will carry the torch using an Airbus A319 to 13 cities in total: Teresina, Palmas, São Luís, Imperatriz, Belém, Macapá, Santarém, Boa Vista, Manaus, Rio Branco, Porto Velho, Cuiabá and Campo Grande. The Olympic Torch Relay will take 95 days and end with a big opening ceremony, during which the Olympic fire bowl will be lighted in the Maracanã station in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August.
