Sturzenegger said that Latam could fly again in

Sturzenegger said that Latam could fly again in
Sturzenegger said that Latam could fly again in Argentina

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Almost as if passing by, before an audience of SME businessmen not necessarily linked to airplanes, Federico SturzeneggerMinister of Deregulation, gave relevant news this Wednesday for the aeronautical industry and, at the same time, explosive for the transport unions that are preparing to stop on the 30th of this month: the Latam group, with Chilean and Brazilian capital, could return to fly in the Argentine domestic market after almost four years.

Latam , the group’s local subsidiary, definitively announced its departure from the country in February 2021, after stopping in June 2020. in the midst of tensions with the unions and difficulties to operate in a context that favored Aerolíneas Argentinas, managed at that time by La Cámpora. He had them even as soon as he landed at all the airports and his passengers were forced to wait up to 45 minutes or more above the plane because the ramp service, from the state-owned Intercargo, was delayed in bringing the stairs closer.

The possibility of returning, as the minister implied in a meeting he had this Wednesday at the headquarters of the Argentine Chamber of Medium Enterprises (CAME), where some 120 managers listened to him, is based on resolution 363 that he published last week. passed the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) and authorizes companies in the sector to have foreign personnel and operate with foreign registration. “Latam told me that, under those conditions, I would fly in Argentina again”Sturzenegger said. The mere mention of the issue will undoubtedly add noise to the conflict between the Government and Aerolíneas Argentinas.

When consulted by LA NACION, the company was cautious: “There is no information about it,” they said. But in the sector they almost take for granted the return after the open skies agreement that Argentina and Chile signed in April and that reciprocally allows domestic flights by airlines from both States. Furthermore, the possibility of working with foreign registration would make working conditions more flexible.

The minister did not give deadlines either, but he did mention two possible cities to which Latam could fly: Córdoba and Mendoza. He had actually delved into the topic while talking about something more general, the need to modernize and deregulate the different sectors of the economy. It was at that moment that he cited as an example what was happening in the airline market through a personal anecdote: he said that he was impressed by the price his wife had paid days ago when, due to the lack of local flights, she took a taxi from Gallegos River to El Calafate. “How can it be that there is no more offer?” he asked himself, and there he heard the objection of Guillermo Polkeunion secretary of CAME and president of the Economic Federation of Santa Cruz, who told him that it was surely not profitable to use a 100-passenger plane to cover such a short journey. “No one says a 100-passenger plane; but 15 seats, like that,” Sturzenegger insisted, and listed several points in the country where, as a result of the lack of air coverage, users were forced to travel by car.

“If there were flights there would be an explosion of tourism,” said Sturzenegger

One of them was Campo de Piedra Pomes, in Catamarca. “It is one of the most beautiful places in Argentina, similar to the Colorado Canyon, and you have to take a six-hour car trip from San Fernando, the capital of the province. “If there were flights, it would be an explosion of tourism,” he argued. Then he spoke about Villa Ángela, in Chaco, also far from the city of Resistencia, and Las Lomitas, Formosa, about 5 hours by land transportation from the capital of the province governed by Gildo Insfrán. “The market is now freed for 6 or 7-seat airplanes to operate,” he concluded.

Determined to encourage businessmen who often see difficulties in connectivity throughout the country, Sturzenegger also announced a second piece of news: he said that at the end of the month the announcement of a new cabotage company would be known, Humming Airwaysbased in Tandil, which would link that city and others such as Junín, Venado Tuerto, Olavarría with the Metropolitan Airport. As published in the Official Gazette on May 14, Humming Airways has just been founded by three young partners: Santiago Leopoldo Lugones, Francisco Simón Errecart y Danilo Enrique Massalin Dammann.

With the collaboration of María Julieta Rumi.

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