RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina has taken one of the toughest travel restrictions measures in the world, in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus in the country, by completely banning the sale of airline tickets since Monday, April 27th. Already severely affected by the crisis, the aviation industry should be put under even more pressure by this new measure.
The decree was signed by the Argentine National Civil Aviation Administration and runs until September 1st. The purchase and sale of commercial flights – from, to, or within Argentina – is strictly prohibited.
Although other South American countries have also imposed flight restrictions or temporary bans, none have extended their restrictions this far.
“The issue was that airlines were selling tickets with no authorization to travel to Argentine soil,” a spokesman for President Alberto Fernandez said.
According to Reuters, the restriction on ticket sales in Argentina places greater pressure on Latam’s operation, given the significant share of the Argentinian market in Chilean-Brazilian business.
The ban is also a major blow to the operations of the smaller, low-cost companies, such as FlyBondi, in the domestic market, and SkyAirlines and JETSmart, which fly internationally.
On the other hand, Aerolineas Argentinas, the country’s largest airline, is a state-owned company and can survive the crisis as long as the government is able to subsidize its spending.
Coronavirus in Argentina
Argentina has had its borders closed since March and has enforced a strict model of social distancing and isolation, which has established that the population will be able to have brief recreational outings for a maximum of one hour a day, going not more than 500 meters away from home.
Last Sunday, April 26th, President Alberto Fernandez extended the closing of the country’s borders and preventive social isolation until May 10th. According to the latest government survey, Argentina has recorded 4,000 confirmed cases and only 197 deaths since the outbreak began.
Source: Agência Brasil