Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty, Argentina has lost direct connectivity with 16 cities in the last few years. Several airlines, including the likes of Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways, and Emirates, have stopped flying to this South American country. Let’s take a look at the impact.

Less connectivity

This month, the Buenos Aires Tourism Board released a study looking into the city’s air connectivity. It was found out that the city’s two airports of Ezeiza International (EZE) and Jorge Newbery Airfield (AEP) have received 257,000 international tourists in 2022, 66% fewer than in 2019, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moreover, the average weekly number of international flights was 432, 42% fewer than in the same period three years ago, which is worrying data and something that has been addressed in the past.

In August 2021, IATA’s regional vice-president in the Americas, Peter Cerdá, warned that at least five airlines would not return to the Argentine market even after the pandemic was over, “and another half a dozen have significantly limited their presence in the country, and we do not know if they will return.”

So far, they haven’t. According to data by Cirium, at least eight airlines that served Argentina in July 2019 are not doing it right now. These airlines are Air New Zealand, Amaszonas, Azul, Emirates, Estelar, LATAM Argentina, Norwegian, and Qatar Airways. Norwegian and LATAM Argentina have ceased operations; Estelar has halted flights following the Emtrasur drama, and the remaining simply shut down their services to this country.

Argentina, Buenos Aires, Ministro Pistarini International Airport Ezeiza, Lego Flag artwork.
Photo: Getty Images

Lost city-pair connectivity

The exit of these airlines, plus the reduction in commercial services by others, has made Argentina less connected with the world.

Argentina has lost connectivity with several cities including Auckland, Belo Horizonte, Cabo Frio, Caracas, Doha, Dubai, Fortaleza, João Pessoa, Los Angeles, Maceió, Manaus, Natal, Navegantes, Porto Seguro, Quito and Recife.

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According to Cirium, between July 2019 and July 2022, only one new international city-pair was opened, Buenos Aires-Medellín, currently operated by Viva Colombia.

Prior to the pandemic, Buenos Aires was connected with 49 foreign cities. Now it is only connected to 32 destinations.

An Aerolíneas Argentinas aircraft.
Internationally, Argentina has had 3.1 million passengers. That’s a 46.2% decrease compared to 2019 levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Photo: Getty Images.

Argentina’s recovery

In 2022, Argentina has had 5.9 million domestic travelers, according to data released by the country’s civil aviation authorities. That number is still 17.5% below pre-pandemic traffic levels.

The market is led by Aerolíneas Argentinas with a 69.5% market share, followed by JetSMART (15.3%) and Flybondi (14.5%).

Internationally, Argentina has had 3.1 million passengers. That’s a 46.2% decrease compared to 2019 levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, it is a good sign of recovery because the country has tripled its number of international passengers in only six months compared to 2021 as a whole.

The international market is led by Aerolíneas Argentinas (27.48%), LATAM (11.40%), American Airlines (7.43), and Copa Airlines (5.89%). Among the South American countries, Argentina has had one of the slowest recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic, unlike, for example, Colombia, which is already growing beyond 2019 levels.

How can Argentina restore its international connectivity? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Buenos Aires Times, Cirium.