The Undersecretary of Transport of Uruguay, Juan José Olaizola, announced today that the government of that country has authorized the Paraguayan airline Paranair to operate regular flights connecting Salto with Asunción and Montevideo.
Currently, Paranair operates two weekly flights between Montevideo and Asunción using CRJ200 aircraft with a capacity of 47 passengers. According to the official, the airline will be able to make a stopover in Salto twice a week, a city located in the northwest of Uruguay, whose airport was renovated earlier this year and is under the concession of Aeropuertos Uruguay (which is part of Corporación América Airports).
The official specifically noted that they believe «this is very important because it is the first flight we are authorizing at one of the new airports in the National System of International Airports, in this case, the Salto airport, which is beginning to have air connectivity twice a week for passenger and cargo transport. We believe this is an important initial step, as it is also part of an open skies policy.»
This year Uruguay signed a broader open skies agreement with Argentina this year, while it already had a similar one with Paraguay, and is also working to achieve the same with Brazil.
«We believe that these types of agreements create frameworks for airlines to find niche opportunities to operate flights. This flight to Salto is symbolic because it is the first flight to our new airports, and we believe it will not be the last. This will generate the possibility for other airlines to also explore the option of operating in Uruguayan airports in the interior of the country,» Olaizola continued.
When asked whether they believe there will be sufficient demand, the official said that they expect this route not only to serve to connect residents of Salto, who currently do not receive regular flights, but also to boost inbound tourism and promote the arrival of Paraguayan tourists to the thermal resorts, as well as tourists from other countries through connections in Asunción or Montevideo. He also mentioned, although without giving specifics, that the first flight could take place within «one or two months.»
However, sources close to the airline told our associated media in Paraguay, AeronauticaPy, that for now, the route is under study and its realization depends on operational reports.
Ten years ago, BQB was the last airline to operate regularly. The Salto airport not only serves that city but also has the potential market of Concordia, on the Argentine side, at least until the significant works of the new airport there are completed.
