Andes Cleared for Departure: The Rebirth of an Argentinian Airline

The National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) of Argentina announced on Monday that Andes Líneas Aéreas has met all the requirements to obtain recertification as an Air Services Operator.

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In this way, the company can resume operating both regular and non-regular domestic and international flights carrying passengers, cargo, and mail with large aircraft.

«The so-called recertification is a complex five-phase process, in which ANAC, accompanied Andes to ensure operational, financial, and legal compliance,» the agency stated.

In this regard, Paola Tamburelli, head of ANAC, said that Andes «joins a domestic air transport network that, at this moment, already has more flights than before the pandemic«.

Andes Líneas Aéreas had suspended its regular operations prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, in November 2019, after being unable to withstand the new competitive context developed after the arrival of low-cost airlines in Argentina in 2018 and a significant debt from the province of Chubut (which provided subsidies to fly there). Paradoxically, it was the same opening of the commercial air market that had allowed it to grow exponentially since 2016, having managed to mobilize almost 2 million passengers in 2018.

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They restarted a few weeks later, but in February 2020 the situation became even more critical and they were grounded again.

After the worst of the pandemic had passed, rumors about the company’s relaunch began to surface at the end of 2021, which began to take shape in mid-2022 when ANAC itself announced that Andes would fly again «in the short term».

In October 2022 the first plane of the new stage of Andes, a Boeing 737-800 registration LV-KFW, arrived at Ezeiza airport, while it was announced that the idea was to resume charter flights before the end of the year.

A few weeks later travel agencies began to promote Caribbean packages with flights that Andeswould operate, but they finally did not materialize.

Andes is expected to have a second Boeing 737-800, which has the registration LV-HKS and previously operated for Flybondi (these days it is in Tucson, United States, for pre-delivery work). With this aircraft, plus the certification from ANAC obtained today, the path is paved for it to start operating charter flights for a travel agency specialized in mobilizing senior high school students to the ski resort of Bariloche, in Patagonia, a trip that is a tradition in Argentina.