MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bomb threat mid-flight in Aerolineas Argentinas service from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires

Passengers were kept waiting outside the aircraft while police searched for explosive devices

A scheduled Aerolíneas Argentinas flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires had to return to the airport of origin amid a bomb threat. The case got additional notoriety because entertainers Carmen Barbieri and Marcelo Polino were onboard as passengers.

 The aircraft had to make an emergency landing and all passengers, including Carmen Barbieri and Marcelo Polino, had to be evacuated.

“The departure of the plane was fine, everything was great. When it took flight, we noticed that it was moving a lot and we thought 'we are between mountains', but we felt something strange. In the middle of the flight, a crew member was told that there was a bomb in the plane,” Barbieri told TN.

#Ushuaia Un vuelo de Aerolíneas Argentinas, con Carmen Barbieri y Marcelo Polino a bordo, fue evacuado tras una amenaza de bomba. pic.twitter.com/jnDRPycGC4

— Hechos y Derecho (@Hechosanderecho) September 1, 2024

She then said she realized they were flying too low and asked Polino: “Are we coming back? Nobody told us anything.“

Barbieri, whose grandfather was killed alongside tango legend Carlos Gardel in the 1935 air crash at the Olaya Herrera airport in Medellín, said she was told ”in our earshot“ about the emergency not to further alarm other passengers.

”Bomb threat on AR 1883 Ushuaia Buenos Aires flight. They took me and Carmen Barbieri off the flight. They do not give information, the PSA and the Air Force are there,“ Polino had written earlier. They told me that if they said there was a bomb threat, people would go crazy,” he also explained.

“They left us around 40 minutes onboard and asked us 'don't move from your seats'. The plane was able to reach the runway and landed close to a mountain, far from the airport,” Polino wrote on social media. He also mentioned that Airport Security Police (PSA) escorted two young people off the plane with their backpacks before allowing the rest to disembark.

“We were all there, the crew and us. They didn't let us touch the luggage we had in the hold, only the coat. We went to the edge of the mountain and spent another 40 minutes waiting for someone to come and pick us up,” Polino posted.

In the meantime, the aircraft was searched for any explosive devices. “The dogs came and all that,” Polino stressed. Luckily we are now inside the airport in a room,“ he added.

”Everything is fine. Fortunately, calm. We are here with Marcelo. We were never nervous, but we were outraged by the lack of information. Luckily, we had calm passengers. Nobody panicked,” Barbieri said.

After the contingency procedures were completed, the aircraft was allowed to take off for Buenos Aires.