An incident occurred at an airport in Chile. A passenger who missed his flight ran onto the runway and blocked a departing aircraft.
According to the Daily Mail, the event occurred on March 3 at El Tepual Airport in Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region, southern Chile.
The 29-year-old man, whose identity has not been disclosed, missed his LATAM Airlines flight to Concepción and then ran onto the runway. He stood in front of a plane preparing for takeoff and attempted to stop it.
A video taken from the airport boarding area shows a passenger with a black bag running across the runway towards the departing aircraft. He then stands directly in front of the plane, blocking it, and even waves his hands towards the cockpit.
About one minute later, airport staff and security personnel approached the man and pulled him off the runway. Eventually, he was handed over to the police.
Reports indicate that the man had been previously arrested on theft-related charges.
Following concerns about airport security, Rodrigo Urzúa, regional director of Chile’s Sectorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) for Los Lagos, stated that this incident clearly exposed weaknesses in the airport security system. He added that existing security protocols need to be reviewed and improved.
Meanwhile, a similar security breach recently occurred at Santiago Airport in Chile, where a Haitian national evaded immigration and security checks and entered restricted areas without authorization.
