MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

No more caps for passengers arriving in Argentina by air

Argentina is gradually reopening its borders and airlines are back, hoping demand for seats will rise

Argentina's Government Monday announced there will be no more caps for air travellers allowed into the country as of Tuesday. The measure was confirmed through a statement from the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC).

The authorities explained these decisions were made possible 14 days after Argentina reached 50% of its population vaccinated against COVID-19 with a full scheme, the Interior Ministry reported Monday.

“As established in Administrative Decision 951/21, as of Tuesday no quota of any kind has been applied to flights arriving in our country,” the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) announced in a statement and the Ministry of the Interior lifted the required electronic affidavit for Border Neighborhood Traffic.

“At the moment, nationals, [foreign] residents or tourists residing from neighbouring countries, with a complete vaccination scheme, who have stayed in these [countries] during the 14 days before entering the national territory, may enter the country,” the Interior Ministry said.

In that scenario, foreign carriers are rescheduled for their gradual return. Brazilian airline Gol has announced flights will begin to arrive back into Buenos Aires' Aeroparque on Dec. 19 from
São Paulo (Guarulhos) and Rio de Janeiro (Galeão) and also from Florianopolis with Boeing 737-800 aircraft carrying up to 176 passengers.

Gol's partnership “with Aerolineas Argentinas will allow Brazilian and Argentine customers to enjoy extensive connectivity both within Argentina and in Brazil, through the operations of both companies,” the statement went on.

Gol had first landed in Argentina in 2004 but operations were halted due to the pandemic. The resumption of flights to Buenos Aires comes after the restart of the company's international departures to Montevideo, Cancun and Punta Cana, scheduled for November.

Gol also plans to serve Buenos Aires' international Ezeiza airport, according to company sources.

Meanwhile, Copa and Sky plan to resume services to Mendoza shortly, after lifting their operations to that city in March 2020. So far, only Aerolineas Argentinas flies from Mendoza to Santiago de Chile while Latam Airlines is resuming services this week to both the Chilean capital and also São Paulo (Guarulhos).

Sky Airlines is to resume regular operations between Santiago de Chile and Mendoza on Nov. 1, it was reported, with three weekly operations -Mondays, Fridays and Sundays- to Mendoza on Airbus A320neo aircraft seating up to 186 passengers in a single class.

Mendoza will thus become Sky's second destination in Argentina after the carrier's five weekly flights to Buenos Aires are already operational.

Copa will resume flights to Mendoza from Panama City starting Dec. 2 with three weekly flights - Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Mendoza to Panama and Wednesdays, Fridays and Mondays from Panama to Mendoza.