Latam will cease operations of its Argentina affiliate
indefinitely.
The airline group’s affiliates in Chile, Brazil, Peru,
Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and the U.S. will continue flying.
“The announcement is a result of current market conditions,
exacerbated by the impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic and the difficulty of
building structural agreements with local industry actors, which has made it
impossible to foresee a viable and sustainable long‐term project,” Latam said.
The cessation means the end of Latam’s domestic Argentina
flights. Latam will continue service to Argentina from the U.S., Brazil, Peru
and Chile.
In late May, Latam entered its Chile, Peru, Colombia,
Ecuador and U.S. subsidiaries into Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization while
continuing flight operations. The carrier didn’t include its Brazil affiliate in
the filing due to discussions with the Brazilian federal government about
potential financial support.
In Argentina, Latam has been forced to cope with a complete
block on entry to all nonresident foreigners.
Latam did not say that it would disband the Argentina
affiliate, but it gave no assurances of a restart either.
Latam is offering refunds on tickets for canceled domestic
Argentina flights.