Argentina to Hand Over Grounded Venezuelan Boeing 747 to US

DALLAS — An Argentine court has approved the transfer of a grounded Emtrasur Boeing 747-300M cargo plane to US authorities, according to the justice ministry.

Emtrasur is a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned Conviasa (V0), the country’s flag carrier. The new startup company was established in November 2020 with the purpose of planning, managing, and controlling air cargo and mail operations both domestically and internationally.

The Emtrasur Jumbo (YV3531, MSN 23413, LN 632) has been grounded in Argentina since June 2022. It landed in Argentina after attempting to enter Uruguay while carrying a shipment of auto parts from Mexico. Uruguayan authorities impeded the aircraft from entering the country’s airspace after receiving alerts from "foreign agencies," forcing its return to Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), where it was detained citing the “excessive” number of crew on board, including Iranian nationals.

The plane's 19-member crew, consisting of Venezuelans and Iranians, was initially detained but later released. The U.S. suspected one of the Iranians on board of having links to the Al Quds Force, a group classified as a terrorist organization.

Furthermore, the U.S. claimed that the sale of the plane from Iran's Mahan Air (W5) to Emtrasur violated its sanctions against both countries. Both Venezuela and Iran have protested against U.S. attempts to seize the plane and have sought support from Argentina. However, on Wednesday, Judge Federico Villena ordered the plane to be surrendered to the United States, a decision that Venezuela criticized as theft.

The 747-300M has cargo capacity in the rear portion of the main deck similar to the -200M, but with the stretched upper deck, it can carry more passengers. The aircraft is a 747-300 Combi, which means it can be used to carry passengers as an airliner or cargo as a freighter. It may also have a partition in the aircraft cabin to allow both uses simultaneously in a mixed passenger/freight combination, hence its name.

Featured image: Emtrasur Boeing 747-300M. Photo: Venezuelan Embassy, Belarus, via Twitter. Article source: Barrons.com