The Chamber of Air Lines in Argentina – JURCA – asks the Chief of Cabinet of the Nation to evaluate and reconsider the Administrative Decision 643/2021 issued recently, which unfortunately was issued without prior coordination or joint work of the local authorities and the aviation organizations with the airlines in Argentina. This regulation has provided for a virtual total border closure without simultaneously considering a contingency plan that facilitates the imperative repatriation of the thousands of Argentines who are abroad without a return solution.
The rule published on June 25 and applied immediately, suddenly reduced the already very limited quota of daily passengers that airlines could transport to Argentina, from 2,000 passengers prior to its enactment to only 600 daily passengers. This drastic measure represents an average cap of 2 (two) daily flights throughout the country, which is equivalent to 2% of what the industry transported pre-pandemic.
The authorities have stated that passengers must contact the airlines to reschedule their flights. However, the Argentine government has not authorized any air operations for a date after July 12. Consequently, no company can provide a clear travel solution to its customers with the aggravation that if the current maximum quota of 600 daily passengers were extended, and depending on the number of passengers that are pending return, the delay of many passengers to return to their homes could take up to 5 months.
The airline industry requires a more predictable operating framework, as is the case even in this time of pandemic in the more than 1,500 destinations that are flown around the world today. Since the implementation of these restrictions and flight approval procedures, the Argentine Republic has seen its connectivity with the rest of the world strongly affected and we fear that this will worsen even more.
It should not be overlooked that:
• The air industry is the largest transporter of the supplies and vaccines necessary to face this pandemic, and the reduction in passenger flights means a reduction in the transport network of that merchandise;
• Our industry operates with the Biosafety Protocols approved by the World Health Organization and the authorities of the various countries from and to which we fly, including the obligation of passengers to present Negative PCR prior to boarding, the mandatory use of masks by passengers and crew during the entire flight path, and that the aircraft have HEPA Air Filtering systems that eliminate 99.9% of the particles, including viruses and bacteria;
• Passengers carry out PCR tests upon arrival in the country, which has given positive rates of less than 0.5%;
• Even with a negative PCR upon arrival, all passengers must undergo the mandatory quarantine determined by the National Health Authority;
• The Minister of Health reported publicly that in recent weeks there has been a clear decrease in the rate of infected in the country;
• The arrival of 8,000,000 additional vaccines has been announced for the next 15 days, from a contract for 24,000,000;
• There are already more than 21,000,000 doses applied;
• A decrease in ICU bed occupancy factors has been reported;
• The vast majority of returning passengers do so already vaccinated.
For this reason, we urgently request a meeting with the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers to analyze, first of all, the urgent need to schedule flights that allow the return of Argentines who are abroad, but also the elimination restrictive measures, the expansion of the testing capacity / hour in the authorized airports, the authorization of international airports in the interior as safe health corridors, and the authorization of international flights for periods of at least 3 months ahead.
