Rafael Seirafe-Novaes, 40, and Beatriz Rapoport De Campos Maia, 29, were denied boarding at Miami International Airport in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States at around 8:35 a.m. on March 2, 2025. They are a couple and they were passengers of the American Airlines flight 2494 to Mexico.
The flight was scheduled to depart Miami at 9:01 a.m. that day and arrive in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico at 10:56 a.m. Because of the couple’s actions, the flight departed at 9:10 a.m. and arrived at 11:22 a.m.
Opened in 1928, the Miami International Airport is the primary international airport serving Miami, Miami-Dade County and is currently the third largest hub of the American Airlines. In 2021, the airport became the busiest international cargo airport in the U.S.
Seirafe-Novaes and Maia were running late for their flight so they tried to force themselves through security to get onto the plane. He allegedly pushed two victims and she allegedly pushed the victims and threw coffee at them.
Ignoring no-trespassing signs and verbal commands from a ticket agent, the couple pushed past staff onto the restricted jet bridge. When Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived, Seirafe-Novaes resisted by pulling his arms away.
Both Seirafe-Novaes and Maia were arrested. They were booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami.
Maia was charged with trespassing and two counts of battery. Seirafe-Novaes was charged with resisting an officer without violence and trespassing.
Whether Seirafe-Novaes and Maia are citizens of the U.S. or Mexico is unclear. In the U.S., violence at international airports is a federal crime.
CONAN Daily 