Passengers on an Aerolineas Argentinas A330 were disembarked and marched into the woods following a bomb threat. Photo / Diego Aramayo; Twitter

'Into nothingness': Bomb threat passengers disembarked on remote Argentine airstrip

Author: Thomas Bywater,
Publish Date: Mon, 22 May 2023, 11:37AM

Passengers aboard a long-haul flight from Buenos Aires bound for the United States found themselves disembarked on a remote corner of the Argentinian runway, following an anonymous bomb threat.

270 travellers and 12 crew aboard Aerolineas Argentinas flight AR1304 was due to depart after 7.30am on Sunday from Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport.

Instead of departing, they found themselves taxied out to a remote corner of the airfield and disembarked by the bomb squad.

The Argentinian explosive disposal unit GEDEX was in attendance along with airport firefighters and emergency services.

Remarkable scenes were shared by passengers, who were escorted off the plane into the woods surrounding the runway.

Passengers described being taken to the edge of the airport and being told to “walk into the nothingness”.

The Airbus A330 was eventually cleared to fly after no suspicious material was found.

✈️AHORA: Pasajeros desembarcan un A330 en área remota del aeropuerto de Buenos Aires, luego de recibir una amenaza de bomba.

Se trata del vuelo AR1304 con destino a Miami.

Ya se descartó riesgo, ha sido reprogramado para más tarde. pic.twitter.com/4LVJ9cHqE0
— Rosendo Chavarría (@RosendoChV) May 21, 2023

According to La Nacion, the airport received a tip-off about a bomb on the Florida-bound plane, telling them to stop the flight.

Airport Police said that the protocols were followed and were satisfied that no threat was posed to the plane.

AR1304 was cleared to fly and continued its journey at 3pm local time to Miami Airport.

@nanupinto_ Parte 2 Amenza de 💣 en un avion #viral #fyp #aerolineasargentinas #pasajeros #avion #ezeiza ♬ sonido original - Nadia Pinto

Bomb threats are not unheard of in Argentina, with two hoaxed threats on Aerolineas Argentinas services last year, according to the Cronica newspaper.

In September, a young boy waiting to take off on a plane from Tucumán from Buenos Aires Aeroparque shouted “I have a bomb in my suitcase.” The airline said that after that point it had no choice but to disembark passengers and search the plane, due to following security protocol.

Threats are taken extremely seriously by airlines and civil aviation. In July a bomb an EasyJet service from London to Menorca was intercepted by Spanish fighter jets after an 18-year-old shared a threat to social media prior to departing, saying he was carrying a bomb. The teen spent the night in jail and was faced with a $100,000 fine for the operation to counter the bogus bomb plot.