MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Carmona: air link with Sao Paulo is 'dead'; Aerolineas will finally fly directly to Falklands

“Argentina will continue to demand that any further flights to the Malvinas from the continent must be done in an Argentine flagged aircraft, preferably Aerolineas Argentinas,” Carmona said

Argentina might be in the midst of a major political and cabinet conflict of yet unknown consequences, but certainly not positive given the precarious situation of the economy, but there is always time to address the claim obsession, Malvinas Islands.

Guillermo Carmona, head of the Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic Secretary Office, has said it is a fact that the air link between the Falklands and Sao Paulo in Brazil no longer is effective, and each of the articles in the Foradori/Duncan agreement are to be knocked out, “one by one”.

“Argentina will continue to demand that any further flights to the Malvinas from the continent must be done in an Argentine flagged aircraft, preferably Aerolineas Argentinas,” Carmona told a Patagonian radio interview.

“I am pleased to inform that any attempt to modify fisheries and hydrocarbons policies, as was anticipated in the Foradori/Duncan deal is out of the question, as is the air link to Sao Paulo and any chances of military cooperation, and we are advancing is neutralizing any possible Antarctica cooperation that had been planned”.

Carmona said that all the measures taken are of “national interest”, because it is essential “we consolidate our presence in the austral area of the country and we effectively exercise sovereignty.”

He added it was very important to address everything that improves Argentina's Antarctic logistics, “it is very important what we are doing in Tierra del Fuego, and it is most significant the advance to link Tierra del Fuego with Santa Cruz province by sea”.

Carmona also mentioned as an advance the air bridge between Rio Gallegos (Santa Cruz) and Rio Grande (Tierra del Fuego).

As to the recently resumed LATAM weekly flight from Punta Arenas to the Falklands last Saturday, Carmona said it was possible “because we insisted; you simply couldn't have the Islands isolated from the continental territory for over two years”

The air link with Chile “is not what we most like but is what is possible and allows people to travel to Malvinas. As I mentioned before our objective is an Aerolineas Argentinas flight direct from the continent to the Islands, weekly, and that is what we are working on and we will insist until it has been achieved”

Carmona recalled that connectivity between the Malvinas and the continent is nothing new, ”it existed from the province of Chubut (Comodoro Rivadavia) to Puerto Argentino (Stanley) and it linked us with the Islands from 1971 to 1982”.