Closing borders in Chile: what will happen to international flights? Who will be able to enter and exit?

The Chilean government announced on Thursday a series of severe measures that will be in effect during the month of April to try to control the increase in COVID-19 infections in recent weeks. These included closing the borders for tourism and strict conditions for the few people who will be able to enter and leave the country.

What will happen then with international flights?

The premise of the rule, which will remain in effect for thirty days, states that access restrictions to the South American country will not focus on flights, but on passengersIn other words, it will be the travelers who will have to meet the conditions to enter or leave Chile.

Since March 2020, what remained restricted were flights to destinations other than Santiago, the capital, from abroad. Thus, income has been limited only to Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, where health control is developed and requirements are demanded that have been reformed over the days.

The current pandemic scenario in Chile is alarming. In the past few hours, more than a million infected people have been infected and the country remains at an unprecedented average of seven thousand new cases daily. Reasons which led the health authorities to quarantine 16 of its 18 million inhabitants and to close its borders almost completely.

You can enter Chile: yes, but meeting strict requirements

As communicated by the government, from next Monday April 5 at 5 a.m., Santiago Airport is completely closed for 30 consecutive days for foreigners who do not have a residence in Chile. Thus, flights will continue to arrive as planned, but passengers will be conditioned to the new measures.

For the above, If a traveler does not have an official residence and, for example, wishes to arrive in Chile as a tourist, he will not be able to enter Chile. This will apply, initially, until the first week of May.

The closure of borders will affect “Chilean citizens and foreign residents in our country”, as reported by Under Secretary for Crime Prevention Katherine Martorell. In other words, they will not be able to leave Chile, unless they have a permit approved by the authorities. For its part, “foreigners who are in Chile and who do not have a return date can leave the country without any problem ”, He said.

Regardless of any nationality, if the traveler is not a resident of Chile but needs to enter the country, he can do so provided he has an authorization issued by the Chilean consular authority of the place of origin of the visitor. That is, if at that time there is someone with a ticket to Chile, he must first go to the Chilean consulate of his place of origin to obtain an authorization, if the conditions are met.

Requirements to be met

The Chilean government explained that “There can always be an exception” to enter or leave the country. These exceptions will be very important, and they have to do with humanitarian issues such as health issues or essential milestones for Chile. These edges must be verified through the documentation or certification of the institutions that grant such a role to passengers. for exampleIf the traveler is a doctor, the health center in which he works must issue a certificate to be presented to the consulate of origin. Ditto for policy makers or health management. Each case will be assessed and defined by the consular authorities. Pleasure travel is radically over.

In addition, entry into Chile will only be allowed for those who “are not on the list that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared as community transmission”. This list includes about sixty countries and almost all South American nations such as Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, among others, which are part of this group. Therefore, its citizens will not be able to enter. Also from USA and most European countries. WHO updates the list daily and publishes it on its official website.

Finally, travelers who have stayed in the last 14 days in countries where one of the three variants of the coronavirus has been identified, which have been classified as an official notification problem on coronaviruses (VOCs), will not be able to enter Chile, they include countries which have presented the development of the variants: British, African and Brazilian.

Once you have entered Chile, what should you do?

If the traveler succeeds in entering Chile, the procedures will not end there. Consular authorization will allow arrival and stay in the country, however, it will be attached to other requirements. Thus, from March 31, the traveler will have to quarantine for 10 days from arrival, “Without the possibility of being exempted or of terminating it prematurely”.

The first 5 days will take place in a compulsory way in “a transit hotel for travelers”, which must be booked prior to arrival. Non-resident foreigners must pay for their stay in this place out of their own pocket.

For foreigners entering the country, in addition to the above, they must have health insurance. This must be contracted in your country of origin and must provide cover for international medical care in the event of contracting coronavirus in our country. This insurance must have a minimum coverage of 30,000 USD.

For more information on this subject, details can be obtained on the MINSAL page specially designed by the Chilean health authorities (www.minsal.cl).

What will happen to international flights?

A few hours after the announcement of the border closure for next Monday, the main Chilean airline, Latam Airlines has announced that it will cancel most of its scheduled international flights from Monday April 5.

“In view of the announcement made by the Chilean government regarding travel restrictions to and from abroad, Latam Airlines Group announced the suspension of its scheduled international flights to and from Chile effective April 5, the date on which the measure of authority takes effect, ”the company said in a press release.

The main national and international Chilean airline company, also reported “With the objective of maintaining the connectivity of the country”, a “reduced operation” will be maintained to allow the repatriation of residents and foreigners who wish to leave the country as long as the restrictions are maintained.

The company also reported that those affected by these cancellations, they can modify the corresponding dates of their tickets without any value.

Decisions similar to those of Latam Airlines should be taken by other airlines with routes to Chile, although they have not yet been officially pronounced.

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