International flights: government limits routes to US, Europe, Brazil and Mexico

In the middle of the suba de casos de coronavirus en el mundo y por temores a la segunda ola en el país, el Gobierno les pidió este martes a las aerolíneas, through a carta that envió the Administración Nacional de Aviación Civil (ANAC) , What halve flights to and from Brazil and 30% to the United States, Europe and Mexico, by the health situation.

“Airlines that operate to and from the United States, Mexico and Europe will have to change their regular schedules to cut weekly passenger flights from these destinations by thirty percent,” the document said. .

Likewise, they explain that lines that operate to and from Brazil “will have to change their regular schedules to reduce weekly passenger flights from these destinations by fifty percent.”

This measure would apply from February 1st and it is launched at the request of the Ministry of Health, a portfolio that guides Ginés González García, based on the epidemiological situation in different countries.

“It should be noted that the aforementioned portfolio specifies that carry out a periodic review of the epidemiological situation, with a view to restoring income as quickly as possible. Until this is possible, this authority will approve the timetables on the basis of the informed decision, ”they indicate.

In these days, it is expected that the ANAC will receive the flights that each company will reduce to fit the demand of the Ministry of Health.

On December 21, the government had already closed the borders with Great Britain, worried about the possible spread on Argentine territory of the new strain of coronavirus. In addition, it was decided to review the entire migration policy with Brazil and the rest of the neighboring countries, but in the end no specific measures were taken.

Aerolineas Argentinas has indicated that it has already reduced the number of international flights in recent weeks, due to the drop in demand that has occurred due to the mandatory request for PCR to enter the United States and after the reappearance of infections in Europe .

Similarly, last week, the airline KLM announced that it was temporarily suspending flights between Argentina and Amsterdam due to measures ordered by the government of the Netherlands to stop the advance of the Covid-19. This includes a curfew from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., in effect until February 10, and a ban on flights from the UK, South Africa and South America.

The company’s last flight between Buenos Aires and Amsterdam was last Friday.

For travelers who had already purchased the flights for other dates, they were transferred to Air France – owner of KLM flights – but now this program will have to be reviewed due to Argentine government restrictions.

On the other hand, the airline Alitalia has also announced that it has canceled the February and March frequencies of the Rome / Ezeiza / Rome link and will resume its activities from April. The reason for the cancellation relates to the current situation regarding Covid-19 and the restrictions on the entry of tourists from Argentina to Italy.

The Italian-flagged airline is in the midst of a process of nationalization and name change to Italia Trasporto Aéreo (ITA). ITA plans to start with a fleet of 52 aircraft and cover 61 routes.