Flybondi had to reschedule a flight in Jujuy due to a failure in a luggage carousel that generated smoke

A plane Alba Star rented by Flybondi was wrapped in a column of smoke this Wednesday at the Jujuy Airport due to a luggage conveyor belt failure Managed by local low cost staff. The incident ignited the fire alarms of the aircraft and forced emergency protocols to be activated. There were no passengers on board.

The incident occurred this day in the runway area of ​​the international airport Governor Horacio Guzmánin the province of Jujuy, when the ship was stopped waiting to continue with its scheduled route. At that moment, a malfunction in the luggage carousel caused a oil loss that, due to the high temperatures of the equipment, it began to burn generate smoke.

The sensors on the plane rented by Flybondi to the company Alba Star They were activated minutes later, when the smoke expanded and entered the cabin. The airport’s Security, Rescue and Fire Fighting (SSEI) personnel launched the security protocol, in parallel to the activation of internal measures taken by the company, which decided to suspend the flight schedule until the situation of the aircraft was verified.

The damage occurred on a luggage conveyor belt at Flybondi, company that since 2018 has been self-managing its own ramp service. The plane, belonging to a Spanish company, was rented by the Argentine low-cost company along with another aircraft to expand its operations in the country, in a context in which disputes between the government of Javier Milei and the aeronautical guilds of Argentine Airlines for improvements in salary conditions.

The low cost referred to what happened this Wednesday. “A failure in a luggage carousel that attended the registration EC-NLK operated by Alba Star affected the continuity of flight FO 5193. There was no damage to the plane or passengers affected by this situation,” they informed Scope.

In addition, they clarified that there were no injuries and stressed that the column of smoke was not produced by the presence of fire nor did it lead to a fire. There was also no loss of fuel on the part of the aircraft. Regarding the flight, they indicated that still “The moment in which the aircraft will be able to continue with the scheduled operation has been determined.”

In September 2024, while the libertarian administration announced the beginning of the privatization process of the state company Intercharge -until that moment the only company authorized to provide ramp service to other airlines in Argentina-, Flybondi received authorization from the National Civil Aviation Administration of Argentina (ANAC) to provide this type of activity to third parties.

The service that the company accessed low cost It consists of all ground assistance to aircraft. This includes, according to the airline itself, “push back maneuvers, the signaling of entry of the aircraft into position, coordination and supervision of all activities around the plane, both those carried out at the foot of the runway and those on the ground.” on board the plane; the de-icing process as well as the transportation of passengers by bus from the terminal to the plane, placement of stairs for boarding and disembarking passengers, and managing the loading and unloading of luggage, among others.” .

The accident that occurred this Wednesday in Jujuy adds pressure to the low cost, which faces strong questions from passengers due to the high rates of cancellation, delay and rescheduling of flights. According to a report from the ANAC, the average of “modifications” of flights by the company in 2024 was 26.92%.

Between July, September and October, “cancelled/rescheduled/alternate” flights by Flybondi They were more than 40%, which earned him three minutes from the ANAC. Furthermore, last November alone, of 2,238 approved trips, 750 (33%) registered some type of non-compliance. In that month, the airline company run by Mauricio Sana It was among the 6 worst airlines in the world. For the Holidays, the company rescheduled 71 flights and affected thousands of passengers.

In December, the Secretariat of Transport of the Nation urged the company to present a plan to regularize the service in order to reduce cancellations. After multiple meetings with the business side, the Government decided not to apply sanctions or remove routes, although they will advance in monitoring the scheme presented by the company to guarantee its compliance.