By Juan Pedro Sanchez Zamudio
Miami is the Most Popular International Route from Chile
In September, 31,851 people were transported on international flights in Chile, mainly to the U.S. The total is 47.9% higher than in August, although it is still at historic lows as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In relation to the same month of last year it represents a fall of 96.3%.
According to latercera, at the end of last year, 23 airlines were operating in Chile. Today, that number reaches to 10 and there are 14 operational routes, although all with very few frequencies.
Operations between Santiago de Chile and Miami was the one that concentrated the largest number of passengers last month, with a total of 12,347 travelers. It is followed, very far, by the route between Santiago de Chile and Madrid, with 5,382 people, and the one between Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo, with 3,583 passengers.
Other routes that are also operational, and that move around a thousand passengers per month, are with Lima, Buenos Aires, Paris, Amsterdam and Panama City. American Airlines, for example, in August restarted its operations with four weekly flights between Santiago and Miami, from next week the operation will be daily.
In the last two months, airlines have gradually reactivated their international operations. The airlines that are already operating to Chile are Iberia, Air France, KLM, American Airlines, Aerolíneas Argentinas and Avianca. On the other hand, other airlines such as United, Delta, Aeroméxico and Air Canada will resume their flights, although everything is subject to change.
After the restart of domestic operations from July 15, and after the restart of international operations from Oct. 5, the Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, registered a total of 4,202 domestic and international commercial flights, between departures and arrivals until Oct. 15. Likewise, during this first quarter of operations at this terminal, more than 450,000 passengers have been transported.
According to takeoffperu, in this first quarter of the restart of operations, the Jorge Chávez International Airport has registered a percentage reduction of passengers transferred of 70.6%, compared to the same period in 2019. By the end of this year, it is estimated to close with little more than 6 million passengers transported, compared to the 23 million carried last year, due to the reduction in the flow of flights as a result of the health crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As mentioned by takeoffperu, during the period from Oct. 5 to 11, 4,024 passengers were transported from and to Peru.
From this number, 1,614 traveled from Lima to Santiago de Chile (Chile), Quito (Ecuador), Bogotá (Colombia) and Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia). Meanwhile, 2,410 returned from these cities to Lima.
19 flights departed from Lima to the four mentioned South American cities, and 21 made the reverse route. In total, 40 international flights were counted in the mentioned period.
The route with the highest demand was the one that connected Lima and Santiago de Chile, with 3,081 passengers traveled between both cities, representing 76% of the total carried.
The three things Juan Pedro loves most about aviation are aircraft, airports, and traveling thousands of miles in just a few hours. What he enjoys the most about aviation is that it is easier and cheaper to travel around the world and this gives you the opportunity to visit places you thought were too far away. He has traveled to different destinations in North, Central, South America and Asia. Born, raised and still living in Perú, Juan is a lawyer, soccer lover, foodie, passionate traveler, dog lover, millennial and curious by nature.