A protest by air traffic controllers suspended takeoffs of all aircraft in Brazil Friday night, according to the government news service. All 49 commercial airports in Latin America’s largest country were closed for takeoffs, but planes in flight were allowed to land normally, Agencia Brasil reported.

Thousands of passengers stranded by the protest jammed the lobbies of airports across the country, the Globo TV network reported. Some passengers who boarded flights were forced to wait on runways for more than four hours, Globo said.
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