MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Aerolíneas Argentinas announces return of daily flights to Madrid

“We have two main focuses: connectivity within the country and bringing tourists from abroad,” Lombardo said

Starting in the coming month of April, Aerolineas Argentinas will resume its daily flights between Buenos Aires' Ezeiza airport to the Adolfo Suárez-Barajas terminal in Madrid. The frequency had been interrupted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Aerolineas Argentinas commercial director Fabián Lombardo made the announncement Friday during an International Tourism Fair (Fitur) at the Spanish capital.

“We have two main focuses: connectivity within the country and bringing tourists from abroad, we are going to continue working to meet these objectives,” said Lombardo during the presentation.

Aerolíneas Argentinas has also been promoting offers and packages to bring foreign travelers to the main tourist destinations in the country.

“There are two extra flights that we are adding and that means going back to the traditional scheme of seven weekly flights to Madrid. It is a very important expansion of the offer and that will serve to promote the arrival of European tourists to Argentina”, Aerolíneas CEO Pablo Ceriani explained.

Also participating at Madrid's Fitur was Argentina's National Institute for Tourism Promotion (INPROTUR), together with more than 30 companies and representatives of 10 Argentine destinations for tourism.

However, a survey carried out by the Argentine Forum of Consultants and Travel Companies earlier this month showed Argentina was the country in the region with the fewest domestic flights, fewer airlines and more expensive tickets. Between November 2020 and October 2021, Chile and Colombia registered 0.41 trips per inhabitant, while in Argentina recorded only 0.10, the study showed.

Argentina was also found to be the country in the region that took the longest to resume domestic flights and also the one that was by November of 2021 furthest from the 2019 level, with only 34% of pre-pandemic domestic services restored.