Leasing company seizes Brazilian airline's jet in Miami The Associated Press 3/6/03 9:48 PM RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- A Brazilian-bound Varig airlines jet was seized at the Miami airport on Thursday by the leasing company that owns it. Varig spokesman Paulo Cesar Fonseca said the Boeing 767 was among 13 planes the airline leased from General Electric Capital Aviation Services. Varig intended to return it to the leasing company, Fonseca said. He said he didn't know if Varig owed the company money. Passengers on the flight to Rio de Janeiro were transferred to other Brazil-bound flights, Fonseca said. "We had told the company we were planning to return the planes and we have entered into contact with the company to learn why it was seized," Fonseca said. In January, a division of insurance giant American International Group repossessed a Boeing 777 from Varig at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for lack of payments. Brazil's airlines have been hit hard by a slump in demand caused by a sluggish economy and a plunge in travel following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. Varig is struggling under more than $746 million in debt. Brazilian regulators have asked the company to restate financial results for 2001 and the first half of 2002, after officials found $359 million in accounting errors. Last month, the airline announced it would merge with another Brazilian airline, TAM, to create a new carrier. The merger follows years of financial troubles and a steep plunge in business.