MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Aerolíneas Argentinas returns to Cuba as ties between countries improve

Frequencies are also being increased between Buenos Aires and other cities in the region, particularly Montevideo

Aerolineas Argentinas has announced the resumption of flights to Cuba in July. The route had been lifted in 2016 due to political differences between Havana's regime and the administration of then-President Mauricio Macri.

“It is a route that is highly requested by agencies and tour operators, both from our country and from different parts of the region,” Aerolíneas Argentinas Chairman Pablo Ceriani explained. Nonstop services between Havana's José Martí and Buenos Aires' Ezeiza airport are currently available on Cubana, usually on Russian-built Ilyushin IL-96 aircraft.

Ceriani made the announcement Monday during a meeting with Cuba's Ambassador to Buenos Aires Pedro Prada and Argentine Ambassador to Cuba, Luis Ilarregui, where they ratified the normalization of bilateral ties. Thus, flights to and from Buenos Aires to Havana will resume next July 4 after six years.

“With the aim of boosting inbound tourism and within the framework of the measures announced by the national government for entry into the country, we increased the frequencies of our international flights to and from Madrid, Lima, Asuncion, Montevideo, and Santiago de Chile,” Ceriani also pointed out.

Direct flights to and from Havana were canceled in 2016 under Macri, and now they are resumed. The carrier also plans to increase frequencies to and from Madrid, Lima, Asunción, and Santiago de Chile.

Aerolíneas Argentinas will replicate the connections with the Uruguayan capital, by increasing from seven to 15 weekly frequencies the arrivals to Montevideo. “In this way, it operates a double daily flight, while on Wednesdays there are three flights to and from the Uruguayan capital,” said Ceriani, who also highlighted the company's program to increase connectivity between Argentine cities without the need to go through Buenos Aires.

Read also: Argentina's Atlantic air corridor back as of July