In October, Aerolíneas Argentinas plans to operate 65 humanitarian international flights to seven cities on two continents. In addition, the airline expects to resume commercial operations this month as well. Let’s investigate further.
Where are the humanitarian flights going?
Aerolíneas Argentinas has been grounded since March, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America. It has only operated a few humanitarian flights to places like China and Cyprus.
Sadly for the Argentinian State carrier, it has celebrated its 70th anniversary on the ground. Still, the airline is maintaining a skeleton network of humanitarian flights across different destinations. In October, it plans to fly to seven cities. These cities are:
- Madrid: two weekly flights on Mondays and Fridays from Buenos Aires. The returns are on Wednesdays and Sundays.
- New York: three flights across the month on the 1, 15, and 29 of October. The returns are on the 3, 17 and 31 of October.
- Miami: four weekly flights from Buenos Aires on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The returns are on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
- Lima: three flights across the month on the 2, 16, and 30 of October, returning the next days.
- Sao Paulo: four weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
- Santiago de Chile: two weekly flights on Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Asunción: two monthly flights on 5 and 19 October.
When is Argentina allowing commercial traffic again?
The Argentinian government hasn’t allowed commercial traffic since March. It has also delayed the resumption date for airlines since May. In the beginning, it said it would allow domestic and international flights on 1 September. Nevertheless, since then, it has pushed back the reopening date. The industry is badly damaged, as seen by LATAM’s Argentina cessation of operations in the country.
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According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) COVID-19 Travel Regulations Map, Argentina will allow commercial operations on from October 12th.
But, can we trust that the Argentinian government will keep this date? Argentina currently has 723,132 coronavirus cases, putting it in the top 10 worldwide. In the last few days, it is averaging over 10,000 new cases a day. Given that, last week, the government pushed back the reopening from 1 October to 12 October due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, we think it will do the same if the trend continues.
Así llegaba, hace una semana al Aeropuerto Internacional de Ezeiza, nuestro LV-GOO con su livery retro. Pronto estará volando por los diferentes destinos del país para celebrar nuestro 70 aniversario. #Aerolíneas70años #Livery #Airline #Retro #Spotter pic.twitter.com/ebC75StXTh
— Aerolíneas Argentinas (@Aerolineas_AR) September 25, 2020
Is Argentina at risk of becoming Venezuela?
A few weeks ago, IATA’s vice-president for the Americas, Peter Cerdá, controversially said that Argentina might become the next Venezuela. He quickly noted that he wasn’t speaking politically, but rather from the air transport industry point of view. He said,
“Ten years ago, Venezuela had one of the best regional and global connectivities. Now it is in a challenging situation. We don’t want Argentina to go on the same road.”
So far, three international airlines, including Air New Zealand and Emirates, have canceled its flights permanently to Buenos Aires. LATAM Argentina ceased operation, and the government announced the merger of Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral. The low-cost carriers in the country are hanging by a thread. Still, the Argentinian government hasn’t shown interest in allowing airlines’ activities.
What do you think of Aerolíneas’ connectivity in October? Let us know in the comments.