Bolivian soldiers,
police battle airport
workers
Bolivian soldiers and
police took control of
the country's most
important airport
Thursday after airport
workers kept an American
Airlines commercial
flight from taking off,
demanding the carrier
pay them landing fees in
cash.
Air force troops overran
the Viru Viru airport in
the city of Santa Cruz
before dawn. One soldier
was wounded by gunfire
and police arrested
three airport workers
who were carrying
firearms, officials
said.
Outside the airport,
police used tear gas
against some workers
trying to enter the
terminal.
Viru Viru "will remain
militarized until the
government is certain
there will be no more
disturbances," Javier
Garcia, the head of
civil aviation, told
reporters.
The communications
office of the private
company that runs the
airport, Sabsa, said
flights in and out of
the airport were running
normally Thursday.
The government took over
the airport after
workers on Tuesday
detained an American
Airlines plane as it was
set to take off for
Miami with 140
passengers aboard.
Another plane belonging
to Aerolineas Argentinas
was also detained.
The workers were
demanding the airline
pay landing fees of up
to $2,000 in cash
locally, rather than
deposit the fees with
the federal airport
authority.
On Wednesday, American,
a unit of Dallas-based
AMR Corp., and Brazil's
Gol Linhas Aereas
Inteligentes SA
temporarily suspended
service to Bolivia due
to the conflict at Viru
Viru.
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