March 11. This week, the Argentinian government revoked the decree that allowed LATAM Brasil to operate flights between São Paulo, Córdoba, and the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas. The Brazilian carrier first launched the route in 2019, although due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was forced to pause it, with the intention of retaking it at some point. Now, it will not happen.
In a decree published this week, the Argentinian government announced that it is crucial to the air connectivity of the Falkland Islands to have scheduled passenger flights from the “continental Argentinian territory.” Therefore, the government decided to overrule the authorization LATAM Brasil had received in 2019 to operate flights to Mount Pleasant Airport (MPN). This announcement was made the same week of the tenth anniversary of a referendum in which the Falkland Islands decided to be a British Overseas Territory.
Despite suspending LATAM Brasil’s right to operate this service, the Argentinian government made no reference to which domestic airline could operate scheduled passenger flights to the Malvinas. Nonetheless, as reported by the Argentinian newspaper El Clarín, the government is interested in Aerolíneas Argentinas flying directly from Buenos Aires to Mount Pleasant.
Source: Simple Flying
