BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) -The airplane transporting Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been circling in the air due to a technical issue it encountered after departing Mexico City, the Brazilian Air Force said in a statement released on Tuesday afternoon.
The plane's pilots are waiting to consume fuel before landing in the same airport, according to the statement, which added that Lula is expected to use a different plane to return to Brazil.
Lula made an official visit Mexico to attend Claudia Sheinbaum's presidential inauguration on Tuesday.
Brazilian news outlet Metropoles said the plane carrying Lula was still in Mexico's airspace.
Brazil's presidential airplane is a 20-year-old Airbus A319 purchased by Lula in 2004 during his first term, which was nicknamed "Aerolula" and has since also transported former Presidents Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia and Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Sarah Morland)
