EDIT***
This story was edited for accuracy on 11/9 & 11/10.
Specifically, I haven’t’ been able to reliably determine if the airport workers who detained the AA Jet were actually armed or not at the time of the it’s detainment.

On Tuesday October 16th, an American Airlines Jet departing Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was held on the runway -reportably for 6 hours- while airport workers demanded up to $2000 in cash from the flight crew. There were 140 passengers on board. Details as to the flight crew’s experience in particular are no where to be found; although it is really where I’d prefer to obtain any information. In lieu of that I have done my best to replicate events as accurately as possible, through research of some of the available news reports which I have provided the URL’s to below.

The men were locals demanding airport landing fees, which are deposited with the federal airport authority - not with the local government. The conflict down there as a whole is really between the local and federal government and is over who owns the airport.

• Wednesday October 17th
  -American briefly suspends service to Santa Cruz and complains to the Bolivian government.
• Thursday October 18th
  -220 Government troops are sent into occupy the airport, as 300 to 400 local protesters line up at the airport gates.
  -American reinstates service? (Unverified)
• Friday October 19th
  -Reports say the number of protesters swells to 7000.
  -The government withdraws some of it’s troops to a military area inside the airport.
  -The government states it plans to operate the airport itself for 90 days.

Email
In the mean time, I was forwarded an unverified email from a reliable source, who also forwarded it, which in part stated that AA sent a flight to Santa Cruz on Thursday but failed to originally notify that flight crew of what happened to the previous crew on Tuesday, or even tell them anything at all before they left the US about the deteriorating situation in Bolivia that they were about to face upon their arrival. There’s more damming detail in the email as well, but because it’s unverified, and until (or if) I actually speak with it’s original author, I’ll refrain from further comment.

The Obvious
-The poor crew that was detained against their will.. What’s their take on it?
-Why in the hell didn’t this story make more news in the United States?
-What if anything did AA do to ensure the safety of it’s employees?

As more updates (if any) come in on this, I’ll post them.
Disturbing.
~Capt’n Chris

Links:
North County Times Article
PR-inside.Com Article
The Garudian Unlimited Article
International Herald Tribune Article
Reuters.Com Article

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