In a statement issued minutes ago, the airline Amaszonas Uruguay announced that it will suspend its operations as of December 7, thus ending its regular and charter services until the Uruguayan authorities reopen the country’s borders.
Also, the company announces the beginning of a «coordination process» with the authorities and the search for business partners. Amaszonas Uruguay indicated that «it is impossible to continue flying in the current situation in the aeronautical and tourism market.» Added to it is the particular Uruguayan situation, in which the company bears the burden of border closure but other international operators can arrive in Montevideo carrying passengers and cargo.
«It is the kind of news that we do not want to give. We try by all means to find formulas to continue flying, but we haven’t been profitable for 9 months and we have a limited flow of passengers to transport » said Sergio León, General Manager of Amaszonas Uruguay.
“We are going to suspend operations until Uruguay opens. The market situation is alarming and we have to be strong for when the new normal allows us to work and our commitment to the country is viable and allows us to minimally cover the fixed costs and salaries of our 62 employees in Uruguay, as well as more than 40 in Argentina and Paraguay,» he added.
Amaszonas Uruguay operated repatriation flights during the pandemic, which allowed the transfer of 4,689 passengers, of which 50% were Uruguayan nationals and the rest were foreigners.
«Knowing that we were able to do our bit so that more than 4,600 families find each other, made us feel that we were walking on the right path, especially if we consider that for five years we have been fighting to sustain the operation in Uruguay,» León concluded.
The airline is a subsidiary of the Bolivian group Amaszonas, which had a great deployment in the Southern Cone during the last five years until different local realities were forcing it to focus on its home market.
