This Wednesday LATAM Airlines Brasil, the country’s largest international operator, has restarted operations between its hub in São Paulo/Guarulhos and Milan, after 21 months off the route.
This was the first route slashed by the airline during the COVID-19 pandemic, as Lombardy, the Region where Milan is situated, was the first Western hotspot of the virus.
Such a restart also marks the first time Italy and Brazil are connected since the European country banned flights from Brazil in January this year; at that time, Alitalia had restarted, less than a month before, flights from Rome to São Paulo with a single weekly frequency.
Milan will now be connected to Brazil three times a week, with flights operated by LATAM’s largest aircraft, the Boeing 777-300, with capacity to 38 passengers in Business class, 50 in Premium Economy and 322 in Economy.
The first flight was operated by LATAM’s newest Triple Seven, registered PT-MUJ.
«We have received enormous request since we started sales», said João Murias, LATAM’s Regional Commercial Director, according to L’agenzia di Viaggi, an Italian website specialized in the travel sector. «The flights are already full», he added, although there are currently no plans for more frequencies.
In fact, in late December and from February 2022, the route is expected to run with only two weekly flights.
«We are proud to host the only direct flight from Italy to South America, an important sign of return to normalcy», celebrated Andrea Tucci, Vice-President of Aviation Business Development of SEA, the group that manages Milan’s airports, also according to L’agenzia di Viaggi.
The executive finished saying that «with the return of São Paulo to our map, we get to 18 intercontinental destinations reachable directly from Malpensa, with over 100 weekly flights».
