Antofagasta Flight Diverted to Mendoza Suddenly
- LATAM flight LA137 left Antofagasta for Santiago on April 30, then diverted to Mendoza after circling near Santiago and failing to land. - Passenger John Atkinson said nearly 200 people were stranded overnight; the return slipped to May 1 after crew duty hours reportedly expired. - The dispute now centers on blame — LATAM cites Santiago congestion, while Chile’s DGAC says the diversion call was the airline’s.
A domestic Chile flight turned into an overnight international mess. LATAM flight LA137 left Antofagasta for Santiago on April 30, but instead of landing in Chile’s capital, it ended up in Mendoza, Argentina, with passengers stuck there until the next day. That matters because this was not a weather blowout or a dramatic onboard emergency, at least from what has surfaced so far. The fight now is over why the diversion happened, who should have prevented it, and why so many passengers say the assistance fell apart. (biobiochile.cl) ### What actually happened in the air? One passenger, John Atkinson, said the plane was already nearing Santiago when it began circling. Then the pilot announced that heavy traffic, plus maintenance affecting one of Santiago airpor(biobiochile.cl)the start. (biobiochile.cl) ### Why Mendoza? Basically, Mendoza was the alternate airport LATAM used once Santiago became unavailable for that flight. LATAM’s explanation is pretty specific: congestion at Santiago had worsened because another airline’s aircraft declared an emergency, while the airport was also operating with a single runway due to ongoing works. That combination, the airline says, forced the diversion. (diarioantofagasta.cl) ### So where did the night go wrong? Passengers expected a quick turnaround. Atkinson said that once they reached Mendoza around 11 p.m., they were told to wait for refueling and aircraft checks so they could head back around midnight. But that departure (diarioantofagasta.cl) That is the catch with airline disruptions — one missed landing can snowball into an all-night operational lockup. (biobiochile.cl) ### What are passengers angry about? The biggest complaint is not just the diversion. It is the care afterward. Atkinson said airport staff started sending people to hotels only around 4 a.m., and that nearly half the passengers we(biobiochile.cl)g in a foreign city in the middle of the night. (biobiochile.cl) ### What is LATAM saying now? LATAM says it activated passenger-assistance protocols in Mendoza and coordinated available services there. In other words, the airline is not denying the disruption — it is arguing that the disruption came from conditions at Santiago and that support measures were put in place. But that defense only goes so far if passengers can show those measures were patchy or too slow to matter. (diarioantofagasta.cl) ### Why is Chile’s aviation authority pushing back? Chile’s DGAC is drawing a hard line. It says the decision to divert belongs exclusively to the airline under its own operational and safety procedures. DGAC also says the runway works LATAM referred to h(diarioantofagasta.cl)ad-luck story into a blame game over preparation. (biobiochile.cl) ### Could this end in legal action? Yes — and that is where the story is heading now. Atkinson and other affected passengers were reported to be weighing legal action for damages after the overnight stranding and out-of-pocket costs. Even if reimbursements continue, the dispute is now also about duty of care and whether LATAM handled a foreseeable disruption badly. (biobiochile.cl) ### Bottom line? This looks less like a mystery diversion and more like an operational failure that spilled across borders. A delayed flight, a congested one-runway airport, an alternate in Argentina, and a crew timing out — that is the chain. The unresolved part is whether LATAM was unlucky, unprepared, or both. (biobiochile.cl)
