MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine insists on direct flights to the Islands

Argentina ratified its position banning non regular (charter) flights to the Falkland Islands, unless they are undertaken by an Argentine flagged airline. Talking to a local Buenos Aires broadcasting station, Eduardo Valdés Foreign Affairs Ministry Cabinet Chief insisted that “we believe this is fair and correct”.

The high official comments come as a reply to the British government's Monday statement before Parliament regretting that in spite of considerable efforts, "regrettably", it has not been possible to reach an agreement with Argentina on charter flights to the Falklands on acceptable terms.

Mr. Valdes explained that regular Lan Chile from the continent to the Islands are "oversold", and that there's also an important number of non regular flights, "with contingents of tourists on Antarctic tours", which need Argentine approval to reach the Falklands, "therefore there are more non regular than regular flights to Malvinas".

Following on this situation Argentina decided that non regular flights will be authorized until December 30, 2003, "but beginning January 2004 no further non regular flights will be authorized, and we want those flights to take off from Argentina, and that an Argentine company flies regularly to the Islands and it is here where the United Kingdom says no. We (on the other hand) believe this is fair and correct".

Earlier in the day the Argentine Foreign Affairs ministry insisted in a release that "no unilateral agreement or provisional understanding" exists with the United Kingdom regarding "non regular flights" between the South American continent and Islas Malvinas, undertaken by companies involved in the tourist industry in the Islands.

The ministry release underlines that is spite of this situation, five non regular flights requested by Lan Chile were authorized in November, December 2003, besides the weekly flights of the Chilean airline with a stop over in Rio Gallegos.

Mr. Valdés said that any negotiation with Argentina "must be undertaken in the context in which flight permits are awarded with normality".

The release stresses that Argentina had with reiteration told the United Kingdom that "air communications with Malvinas must include Argentine continental territory and Argentine commercial airlines".

Finally Oscar Feito spokesperson for the Argentine Foreign Affairs Ministry is quoted saying that Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Bill Rammell statement before Parliament was "surprising" and with a "certain degree of inaccuracy".