The incident occurred in an Austral-operated flight to Asunción that was scheduled to depart at 5.55 a.m. on December 23.
December 24, 2019- Aerolíneas Argentinas informs that on December 23, while boarding the Austral-operated flight 2260 to Asunción, a passenger informed the cabin crew that, during the check-in, he had seen a “suspicious” situation between a man and a woman that were on the plane.
At that moment, the Purser approached the woman, who was behaving erratically and did not say a word. Similarly, the man accompanying her was asked as to who he was and what relationship they had, but when asked in two different opportunities, he gave inconsistent versions.
The crew then decided to take the woman to the front part of the cabin and asked her to produce her ID, which she was not carrying with her. According to one of the flight attendants, the woman continued to utter no words and showed clear signs of mental distress, which is why the Purser and the Captain jointly decided to call the Medical Service of the Company and the Aviation Safety Police (PSA, for its Spanish acronym).
Finally, the passengers had to disembark and the flight was rescheduled for 12.55 p.m. The Purser reported the incident at the office of the Aviation Safety Police in Ezeiza International Airport, so there is an ongoing investigation into the matter.
It is worth noting that, in April 2014, Aerolíneas Argentinas signed a cooperation and assistance agreement with the Ministry of Justice, Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 and the aviation unions.
It is not the first time that personnel from Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral detect cases of human trafficking on board. In 2014, a case was detected in which six women were being trafficked between Buenos Aires and Punta del Este. Other similar cases had been previously detected in Ushuaia and Rio Grande.