Service Restored After Argentina Airport Riot

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Heavy police patrols and resumed flights helped restore order at the country's main airport yesterday after stranded passengers attacked ticket counters and shoved security guards.

Angry passengers overran ticket counters, breaking computers and wrestling with airport security personnel late Saturday after two days of flight delays and cancellations involving Aerolineas Argentinas affected thousands of travelers.

Ticketing workers walked out Saturday afternoon after passengers assaulted a worker at a check-in desk at Ezeiza International Airport, a spokeswoman for the Association of Aeronautical Personnel, Maria de los Angeles Aguer, said.

Yesterday, flights resumed and police patrolled the corridors as passengers, many of whom have waited for days for flights, slept on floors.

Aerolineas Argentinas attributed delays to a labor conflict. But union officials said the disruptions were caused by overbooked flights.