LATAM airline projects a 70% recovery of flights in a pre-pandemic scenario

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The airline Latam projected a passenger operation of up to 70% for April compared to the same month of 2019 in a pre-pandemic scenario, the highest figure so far this year on the eve of leaving behind Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Law in May, the company said Tuesday through a statement.

The company’s current situation includes the start of operations from Lima (Peru) to Cartagena (Colombia) and Rio de Janeiro/Galeao (Brazil), in addition to the route between Quito (Ecuador) and Bogota (Colombia), expanding connectivity options between countries in the region.

This month, the multinational company expects to operate approximately 1,059 daily domestic and international flights, connecting 132 destinations in 20 countries. In addition, more than 1,360 freighter flights are scheduled, including the use of a new aircraft converted for this purpose with a fleet of 13 such vehicles.

In March 2022, as detailed by the company, passenger traffic reached 66.5% compared to the same period in 2019.

Latam, born in 2012 from the merger between Chilean Lan and Brazilian Tam, flew before the pandemic to 145 destinations in 26 countries and operated approximately 1,400 daily flights, transporting more than 74 million passengers annually.

With the health crisis, the company reduced its operations by up to 95 % and ended 2020 with a 58.4 % drop in operating revenues and a net loss of 4,545.9 million dollars.

Following this economic blow, Latam – which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange – voluntarily filed in May 2020 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Law, a judicial formula that allows a company that cannot pay its debts to restructure itself without pressure from creditors.

With information from EFE