Latin America’s first low-cost airport future is on the verge again, as last Friday the Regulatory Body of the National Airport System (ORSNA) of Argentina sent an official memorandum to the Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) informing that Ezeiza airport is the only one in the Greater Buenos Aires Area that meets the safety and health requirements to operate under the pandemic (since Aeroparque is closed for repairs until February, 2021).
In practice, this means that El Palomar Airport, Buenos Aires’ third commercial airport where only low-cost airlines operate, is not authorized to resume scheduled flights. Regular commercial activity at El Palomar Airport started in February 2018, after decades of receiving only military and general aviation flights, with the exception of short periods in which it served as an alternative when Argentina’s second busiest airport and main domestic hub Aeroparque was closed for repairs. Since then, it has become the fourth busiest domestic airport in Argentina, handling over 1,7 million passengers in 2019.
Sources from both Flybondi and JetSMART told Aviacionline last Friday their surprise and disagreement with this decision, but this Sunday Flybondi went further and issued a harsh news release entitled “El Palomar or nothing”, expressing their “most absolute opposition to this decision, which arguments are fully objectionable and malicious” adding that “what is even more serious is that it reveals the regulatory mismanagement and the total absence of planning and coordination, generating two clear victims: passengers and workers.”
The latter in reference to declarations made just days before by the Minister of Transport, Mario Meoni, who spoke in favor of the continuity of scheduled flights in El Palomar.
Flybondi reported that they have not yet been officially notified about the scope of the decision, but that they “understand” that this implies that scheduled operations must be carried out from Ezeiza.
“Flying from Ezeiza is not a commercial option for Flybondi nor for our passengers, and the government authorities and regulatory bodies are aware of this reality. Their decision shows the lack of respect for passengers who purchased tickets to fly from El Palomar and that until the last moment they do not know where their flight will depart from, in addition to the thousands of passengers who can only travel by plane if they do so from an airport that can be reached by public transport. This deepens the crisis of the industry, putting thousands of jobs at risk,” said Flybondi President, Esteban Tossutti.
“We are asking the authorities to review this measure and we really hope that they can make the right decisions that put passengers, employees, and genuine work at the center. In addition, in the event that it is an aspect valued by those who defined this, it would be important that their decisions do not seek to affect the continuity of a business model that in a bit more than two years has managed to democratize the airplane as a means of transportation and transform it into an accessible option for all the people of this country”, he added.
In the meantime, it was known that JetSMART had finally obtained authorization from ANAC to operate scheduled flights … but from Ezeiza, which generated certain suspicions, and could even put at risk the “entente cordiale” formed with Flybondi to defend El Palomar airport.
Both low-cost operators have the support of international investors, but it is assumed that JetSMART has deeper pockets and also was born with a South American projection in which Argentina is just another subsidiary. On the other hand, many are surprised that Flybondi continues to bet, almost stubbornly, on a market in which a new obstacle seems to emerge every week.
oh my god !