MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands, significant pressure on Southbound Airbridge flights during September

The airbridge parked at MPC airport (Pic BFSAI)

The Falkland Islands community will be aware of the strain on Airbridge seating capacity at this time of year and will appreciate that this week’s cancelled flight has added additional pressure on the availability of Southbound Airbridge seats.

The Falkland Islands Government is proactively taking steps to alleviate the pressure on the seats allocated to civilians. This includes, where possible, moving FIG employees, families and guests travelling during this time on to the LATAM route via Santiago and Punta Arenas to free these seats up for those who are unable to travel via South America.

Prioritization will be given to:

• Falkland Islands students (as designated by the Director of Education)
• Those travelling as medical (as designated by the Chief Medical Officer) or compassionate
• New or returning workers whose work is classed as business critical
• Those connecting with the St Helena airlink
• Passengers on a visa for the UK or Ascension that limits their transit time
• Business passengers who demonstrate at the time of booking that failure to travel will have a serious/unavoidable impact on their business (evidence maybe required)
• Exceptionally any other passenger who can evidence their travel is essential

Remaining travelers will be prioritized by date order of booking.

Currently, the southbound civilian seat allocation is full up until the 2 October 2025. Those booked on any Southbound Airbridge flights up to this date should be aware that if your flight is cancelled for any reason, there is no mechanism to automatically re-book you on the next flight, and prioritization will continue as set out above.

It is the responsibility of passengers to ensure that they have suitable travel insurance in place. Such insurance should provide cover for a reasonable period beyond the planned completion of their journey, in the event of delays.

Passengers are also responsible for ensuring that their policy adequately covers expenses such as accommodation and travel to and from the airport.

It is important to remember that if you have a confirmed booking and choose to move to the LATAM route, or delay your travel, please advise your booking agent as soon as possible so that your seat can be re-allocated to one of the identified priority groups from the waitlist.