After knowing the new restrictions announced by the Chilean government on the movement of people, which includes a 30-day ban on foreign travel for both Chilean citizens and residents, as well as the entry of non-resident foreigners, LATAM Airlines reported that it will cancel most of its international flights to and from Chile.
The measure will be a serious blow to both the airline and the country’s connectivity and will have multiple repercussions on the thousands of passengers affected.
«Given the announcement made by the Chilean government regarding travel restrictions to and from abroad, LATAM Airlines Group reported the suspension of its scheduled international flights to and from Chile as of April 5, the date on which it is made effective the measure of the authority,» the airline said through a statement.
«However, in order to maintain the country’s connectivity, LATAM will maintain a reduced operation during the period of this restriction to allow the repatriation of residents or citizens or foreigners who wish to leave Chile» they added.
This will also allow those passengers with tickets to fly during the affected period to make date changes free of charge.
LATAM’s international programming from Chile in April included 104 weekly flights from Santiago to Asunción (3), Bogotá (7), Buenos Aires (originally 15, but already in the process of being reduced due to the Argentinian government measures), San Pablo / Guarulhos (13), Guayaquil (4), Los Angeles (2), Lima (28), La Paz (1), Madrid (3), Miami (24), Montevideo (2) and Santa Cruz de la Sierra (2).
The group dominates the international capacity from Chile with 39% of the seat-kilometers offered based on data obtained by Aviacionline through Cirium.
