After two years of halted service due to the COVID-19 pandemic, LATAM Airlines Group resumed its flights between Santiago de Chile Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) and Mataveri International Airport (IPC) in Rapa Nui.

Back in business

On Thursday, LATAM Group resumed its regular commercial service to Rapa Nui. The reestablished route will have two weekly frequencies, operated on Thursdays and Saturdays. LATAM will deploy a Boeing 787-9, with a capacity for 30 passengers in the premium business cabin and 274 passengers in the economy cabin.

The route between Santiago de Chile and Rapa Nui was closed for two years due to the heavy toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. LATAM is the only airline to operate flights to this remote Chilean island, and in August 2019, it had 11 weekly flights from Chile’s capital city. Juan José Toha, LATAM’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, said,

“We are very pleased to conclude a difficult stage for the Rapa Nui community. During these two and a half years, in coordination with the local authorities, we maintained a limited connectivity which allowed us to transport patients and personnel essential for the functioning of the island, as well as basic supplies such as medicines, food, and vaccines.

The last two years

Due to the pandemic, LATAM Airlines had to cancel its commercial service to Rapa Nui. Nonetheless, the airline did not leave the community alone and isolated during this period.

Throughout the pandemic, LATAM helped keep the people of Rapa Nui supplied and connected, said the airline in a statement. In addition to operating weekly cargo flights, which allowed the transport of passengers and goods, including 19,700 COVID-19 vaccines, the airline, along with the government, carried out seven passenger charter flights; around 4,000 people flew in these trips.

LATAM Airlines resumed flights to Rapa Nui.
LATAM Airlines resumed flights to Rapa Nui. Photo: LATAM Airlines Group.

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Rapa Nui, an isolated airport

Mataveri International Airport is at Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui’s main town and harbor. It is the most remote airport in the world. It is 2,336 miles (3,759 kilometers) away from Santiago de Chile’s Arturo Merino Benítez international. The closest airport to Mataveri is Totegegie Airport (GMR) in the Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.

Lan Chile Boeing 767 Landing At Mataveri Airport, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
This is a LAN Chile Boeing 767 landing in Rapa Nui prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Getty Images.

Prior to the pandemic, Mataveri only had two direct flights, one with Santiago de Chile and the second one with the Faa’a International Airport of Papeete in Tahiti (French Polynesia). LATAM operated both flights; they have a monopoly on the market, and neither JetSMART nor Sky Airline currently fly to Rapa Nui. Perhaps when these two carriers receive their new Airbus A321XLR planes in the near future, they could announce Rapa Nui as part of their route maps. That would be exciting.

If you’re planning to visit Rapa Nui, we recommend you review the current requirements for visiting or residing on Easter Island, which are available on this website.

Have you ever traveled to Rapa Nui? How was the experience flying to one of the most remote airports in the world? Let us know in the comments below.