Through Order 2021-5-10, the Department of Transportation (DOT) communicated that it will require Aerolineas Argentinas to request in advance the flights it will operate to and from the United States since ANAC’s Administrative Decision to limit flights from North American operators to and from Argentina «violate the possibility of exercising fairly and equally» the rights acquired in the bilateral regular traffic agreement, signed in 1985.
According to what the DOT indicates in the text of the order, the bilateral agreement governs commercial aviation relations between both countries, and Article 11 establishes that «the parties shall allow equal opportunities for the airlines designated by each country to compete in the provision of services provided for by this agreement. »
The DOT indicates that from Administrative Decisions 155, 219 and 268/2021, Argentina’s National Civil Aviation Administration «forced the reduction» of the services of North American operators in percentages ranging from 33 to 66%, taking January 2021 as a baseline. The department adds that in some cases the operators had to cancel flights because ANAC offered arrival times «unviable from a commercial standpoint.»
On April 13, DOT sent ANAC a letter asking what was the methodology used by the Argentine aeronautical authority, a letter that was answered on May 10 without conclusive information. A series of virtual meetings of the DOT and the US embassy with ANAC, again with no «conclusive» results.
In parallel, the Department of Transportation observed that by the same baseline (January 2021), the number of Aerolíneas Argentinas flights had decreased by 43 percent in February, but later cut that reduction to 18 percent in April. The DOT notes that North American operators were not allowed to perform a similar recovery.
The DOT, with this information, concluded that «the public interest requires that the operator present its schedule so that we can determine whether the operation of the services contained in that programming, may be contrary to applicable law or negatively affect the public interest.»
Therefore, the Department of Transportation decided to impose to Aerolíneas Argentinas the obligation to send before May 24 a detail of the operations to be carried out to and from the United States, indicating:
The equipment used or to be used,
The frequency and days of operation of each flight
The specific airport to use at each point
The arrival and departure time of each point
The Argentine company must also indicate the combinations, codeshare agreements, brand agreements and additional information at least 30 days in advance of each effective flight to be made.
DOT-OST-2021-0061-0001_attachment_1The Department of Transportation also reserves the right to amend, modify or revoke the order issued without the need for a hearing.
