¡Arróz con Mango! Fed Up Passengers Brawl After Avianca Leaves Over 100 Stranded Overnight In Barranquilla

Early this morning, some Avianca passengers in Barranquilla, Colombia lost their tempers after waiting overnight for flight AV8529 that was supposed to leave the night before to the capital of Bogotá.

According to Avianca, the plane was unavailable the night before due to a medical emergency on flight 9796 from Bogotá to Barranquilla, resulting in that flight diverting to the city of Bucaramanga.

Almost 180 passengers that were waiting at the airport were, according to reports, told to wait at the airport and they would be accommodated on an early morning flight to the capital.  Barranquilla’s airport is near the suburb of Soledad, Colombia, and there are few hotel options within a short drive to the Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport.

There was an early morning flight that left Barranquilla for Bogotá, but it had its own ticketed passengers, and thus little room for the stranded travelers waiting overnight.

This led to tempers boiling over, and some of the angry overnight passengers attempted a blockade until they were accommodated. This escalated into a cinematic brawl that required the intervention of police to restore public order.

Tremendo bololó en el aeropuerto Ernesto Cortizzos. Aerolínea incumplió itinerario anoche y muchos pasajeros durmieron en el aeropuerto. Todos pensaban que los iban a ubicar en el primer vuelo de hoy y no fue así. Ahí se armó el arroz con mango pic.twitter.com/K5inGxwVTz

— Luchovoltio (@luchovoltios) August 15, 2023

Avianca told Finance Colombia in a written statement that:

Flight AV9796 on the Bogotá-Barranquilla route on August 14 had to divert to Bucaramanga to provide immediate care to a sick passenger on board, prioritizing the traveler’s health above all.

This situation resulted in the flight having to be postponed, and all the passengers were relocated on an additional flight today, August 15, which took off at 10:00 am. Meanwhile, the company offered assistance at the airport.

Additionally, today there were disruptive behaviors of some passengers of AV9796 who tried to block the boarding of another flight at the Ernesto Cortissoz Airport, for which Avianca once again makes an urgent call to the authorities to further strengthen the regulation.

We are aware that not arriving at the destination at the planned time generates frustration. However, all the team’s actions will always be aimed at prioritizing the health of our travelers and crew.

“Arroz con mango” is a slang term in some places for when a fight breaks out among riders, for example trying to board a bus or train with inadequate capacity.