No commercial flights until September 1st

[gracielle]

All this sale ban does is not permit the SALE of tickets in Argentina for trips starting before 1 September. It does not ban the actual flights per se. Even before yesterday all comercial flights had been grounded indefinitely. If you read some of the numerous articles on the topic you'd see that authorities make it clear that this policy will be re-evaluated every 2 weeks and might be reversed if things improve quicker or prolonged beyond September. They just don't want airlines to sell tickets for flights that are very unlikely to take place and then have customers cry foul when the airlines refuse a refund or worse go belly up. That's all. And obviously, it's a thinly vailed promotion of Aerolineas since they can receive unlimited state support.
Bye FlyBondi, JetSmart and possibly LATAM Argentina.

Perhaps this may be the outcome.....If you read some of the numerous articles on the topic you'd see that authorities make it clear that this policy will be re-evaluated every 2 weeks and might be reversed if things improve quicker or prolonged beyond September.

For now it clearly states...According to a resolution to be published in the Official Gazette, it is established that "airlines that operate passenger air transport services from, to or within the national territory may reschedule their regular operations or request authorizations for non-regular operations from 1 ° September 2020 ", according to the text of the resolution....

 

[Aloha Boy]

Email from the US Embassy this morning:

Good morning,

On Friday, the Argentine government decreed that airlines can no longer sell tickets for normal commercial flights to/from Argentina. Per media reports, this prohibition will be in effect until September 1, 2020. If you have been waiting for commercial flights to resume, it is time to reconsider. As far as we know, special repatriation flights will continue to be approved. The next special repatriation flight is being run by Eastern Airlines this Wednesday, April 29 at 12:00 noon from Buenos Aires (EZE) to Miami (MIA). Tickets can be purchased at https://goeasternair.com/. We know of no other flights beyond this one.

 

[antipodean]

The ports being closed is illogical . So many products that are needed by all of us be it medicines , auto parts , electrical items , and foods need to be imported as Argentina cannot supply all for their population .

The closure is about people, not about goods.
For example, AA are still operating daily flights, but only allowed to carry cargo. Ships are still sailing up and down the river. Goods will continue to move as they have been doing uninterrupted.

 

[antipodean]

There is no mention of banning flights until september as per the IATA document that was updated yesterday . Sometimes news outlets do not report accurately. https://www.iata.org/en/programs/safety/health/diseases/government-measures-related-to-coronavirus/ (check Argentina that was updated yesterday) , I still have hope that I can leave at least mid summer or earlier. Not sure if I will be able to afford airbnb accommodation for 6 months ...

It would not be reflected here. This restriction is about sale of commercial tickets. Apparently to protect consumers from airlines selling without having certainty of operating. The IATA manual operation of flights and carriage of pax. Repatriation flights may still operate and carry pax.

 

[brandon]

Just saw a page that said delta would be returning to BA mid May, but doesn't jive with what govt here has said:

To South America, five flights will depart Delta’s largest hub in Atlanta from the second half of May, most about three times per week:
Buenos Aires (Boeing 767-300ER)
Lima (Boeing 767-300ER)
Quito (Boeing 757-200)
Santiago, Chile (Boeing 767-400ER)
Sao Paulo (Boeing 767-400ER)

 

[antipodean]

Just saw a page that said delta would be returning to BA mid May, but doesn't jive with what govt here has said:

To South America, five flights will depart Delta’s largest hub in Atlanta from the second half of May, most about three times per week:
Buenos Aires (Boeing 767-300ER)
Lima (Boeing 767-300ER)
Quito (Boeing 757-200)
Santiago, Chile (Boeing 767-400ER)
Sao Paulo (Boeing 767-400ER)

Airlines can say what they want. In all other countries, airlines can take your money and sell you a ticket. They can’t decide when and where they are allowed to operate.

Almost all major airlines have been revising schedules every 2-4 weeks, selling flights then cancelling them as obviously the situation does not permit them to operate those flights. Want a refund? Wait 10 weeks. Want a rebooking? No problem.

Anyone who cannot risk staying here for some months, until at least 01SEP (and potentially longer) should leave now on whatever repatriation flight is available. Optimism / selective listening to airlines vs. local governments is not an option. Most countries have now stopped their repatriation flights, anyone who chose to stay behind is left behind.

 

[ventanilla]

Suspending the sale of tickets doesn't mean they will be banned until September 1st for sure. Probably for a couple months though.

Hope they at least extend visas for people stuck here & allow special repatriation flights.

 

[ventanilla]

Just saw a page that said delta would be returning to BA mid May, but doesn't jive with what govt here has said:

To South America, five flights will depart Delta’s largest hub in Atlanta from the second half of May, most about three times per week:
Buenos Aires (Boeing 767-300ER)
Lima (Boeing 767-300ER)
Quito (Boeing 757-200)
Santiago, Chile (Boeing 767-400ER)
Sao Paulo (Boeing 767-400ER)

The article covers this:

"se ha detectado que algunas líneas aéreas se encuentran promocionando por sí o por terceros, la venta de pasajes para vuelos regulares, sin haber obtenido la respectiva autorización por parte de esta Administración Nacional".

"Some airlines have been found to be promoting flights, through themselves or third parties, without having obtained the correct authorisation from the national aviation authorities."

 

[antipodean]

Suspending the sale of tickets doesn't mean they will be banned until September 1st for sure. Probably for a couple months though.

What makes you think it will earlier? 01SEP is four months away. Are the facts already indicating that countries like the US and Brazil will have the virus under control by then so that Argentina would not view travellers coming FROM the US or Brazil as a health risk? It was only a month ago where the majority of cases in Argentina were imported, most of them coming from the US and Europe - which had significantly less cases than they do today.... all it takes is one idiot breaking their quarantine to make all these weeks we are spending in lockdown wasted and go right back to square one.

Most European leaders have said they will be closed to Non-Schengen travellers until at least September.

 

[keystrike]

You can see all flights coming into EZE here.

Right now there is an Aerolineas flight from MAD inbound and LATAM 1134 heading to MIA.