Another “low cost” will be able to fly from Córdoba, Mendoza and Rosario abroad

The National Government authorized the Colombian low cost company Wingo (Aerorepública SA) to expand its flights to Argentina, connecting Córdoba, Mendoza and Rosario directly with that country and with Panama, without passing through Buenos Aires. Until now this airline, which belongs to the Copa Holdings group, has been flying these routes with the Ezeiza airport.

The measure was published this Tuesday in the Official Gazette, through provision 4/25 of the Undersecretariat of Air Transport headed by Hernán Gómez.

Now, Wingo will be able to fly directly to Córdoba, Mendoza and Rosario and from there fly to the Colombian cities of Medellín, Cali, Cartagena, Barranquilla, San Andrés, Pereira and Bucaramangaas well as towards the city of Panamawith the possibility of connecting from those destinations to any other part of the world. The permit includes both air transport of passengers and cargo, combined.

So far this year alone, the Government has given authorization to four airlines so that they can fly directly to cities in the interior or, also, so that they can connect destinations between their country of origin, Argentina, and third countries as a final destination. of the route. These airline authorizations Sky Chile, Sky Perú, Avianca Ecuador and now Wingo It adds to the greater facilities that were granted last year to also “low cost” companies. Arajet, Paranair, as well as the traditional LATAM and Avianca.

In all cases it is international routes without cabotage sections between two cities in Argentina. In this way, the domestic flight market today remains in the hands of the same three companies that operated in December 2023: Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi and JetSmart Argentina.

In that sense, the “open skies” policy has not attracted new operators so far to fly within Argentina. However, there was an increase in the fleet of both Flybondi and JetSmart, an increase that in turn was generated from the new facilities that the Government gave them.

JetSmart Argentina incorporated four new aircraft (went from 8 to 12) con Chilean license platebased on a reciprocal surveillance agreement or “inter change” signed by the aeronautical authorities of Argentina and Chile. This agreement replicates the one that the Macri government had signed at the time to enable Chilean-registered aircraft to the defunct LATAM Argentina.

In the case of Flybondi, it is applying the modality of planes rented abroad, with crew included. The company added two planes with Spanish registration and foreign crew, a modality known as ACMI and that was enabled after a modification of the Aeronautical Code.

Outside of the news from these two companies, the impact of “open skies” for the moment is limited to a greater offer of flights abroadmostly by regional airlines.

There are two companies that are analyzing flights within the country, Paranair y Sky. The one that would be closest is Paranair, an airline based in Asunción that is owned by Spanish and Canadian capital. According to what its CEO told Clarín, they are waiting to have a larger fleet to start routes that connect Asunción and two points within Argentina. That possibility was opened to them from the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries, which includes the so-called “ninth freedom of the air”, which allows an airline from one country to make domestic flights in the other country.

In that sense, the union member and former Undersecretary of Aerocommercial Transportation, Ricardo Cirielli, was very critical of the Government’s recent measures. “I signed air transport agreements with Emirates, Qatar, Turkish, Gol, Delta, United o Copa. Now they only do it for expand unnecessarily“said this Tuesday of the head of the Association of Aeronautical Technical Personnel (APTA), a union that did not stop Milei’s management, but demands that Aerolíneas remain in the hands of the State.