MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US and Argentina sign revised agreement to boost air travel and cargo

The agreement was signed in Washington by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Argentine Minister of Transport Guillermo Dietrich.

The United States and Argentina on Wednesday signed a revised agreement on air services that could boost air travel and cargo between the two nations.

The amendment updates the 1985 Air Transport Services Agreement and “modernizes the U.S.-Argentina air transport market by allowing for increased competition and service to more destinations,” the U.S. Transportation Department said in a statement.

The agreement was signed in Washington by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Argentine Minister of Transport Guillermo Dietrich.

“The signing of this important agreement is the result of a year of negotiations led by the Department of State with the Departments of Transportation and Commerce, and their Argentine counterparts.

”Conclusion of the Protocol demonstrates the close and cooperative relationship between the United States and the Argentine Republic. By facilitating greater air travel and commerce, it also expands our two countries’ already strong commercial and economic ties”.

The agreement could boost direct and code-share flights between the two nations.

Last year, U.S. and Argentine airlines carried nearly 1.8 million passengers between the two countries, including nearly one million on the Miami-Buenos Aires route, according to the DOT.