San Carlos de Bariloche is a popular destination for Argentine and foreign citizens, being one of the first Argentine cities to approach pre-pandemic levels in terms of passenger movement. As part of the Bariloche government’s reactivation plan, a series of meetings will be held between March 8 and 12 to reactivate its connection with Brazil.
With a view to the winter season, a delegation of the Secretary of Tourism of San Carlos de Bariloche, the Ministry of Tourism of Argentina, and EMPROTUR will meet in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with Azul Airlines, GOL Airlines, and LATAM Airlines.
They will also meet with Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi, and JetSMART to plan a connectivity strategy between Bariloche and Brazil.
Brazil is the main recipient of tourists in Argentina. In 2019, 1,318,148 Brazilians entered, representing 18.99% of the tourist movement, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC).
In the 2019 winter season, more than 60 thousand Brazilians arrived in the city. It was one of the best years in terms of connectivity with Brazil. At that time operated from Sao Paulo/Guarulhos and Campinas/Viracopos airlines Azul (three weekly flights), LATAM Brazil (eleven weekly flights), and GOL (two weekly flights); the same transported 18,054 travelers.
Current situation of San Carlos de Bariloche
The health crisis and restrictions have decimated passenger movement in Argentina. However, the summer season of 2021/22 meant the reactivation of several tourist destinations, especially those in the south of Argentina such as San Carlos de Bariloche, Ushuaia, and San Martin de Los Andes.
Bariloche recovered 60.14% of passengers in 2021, by mobilizing 1,113,554 passengers, which places it as the third most important airport in terms of passenger movement leaving Córdoba and Mendoza behind, according to data obtained through ANAC Argentina.
During January 2022, Bariloche handled 185,520 passengers, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 2%. The companies currently operating are Aerolíneas Argentinas (Buenos Aires/Aeroparque, Buenos Aires/Ezeiza, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza and El Calafate; as of July Salta will be added); Flybondi (Buenos Aires and Córdoba); JetSMART (Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Mendoza) and LADE (Bahía Blanca, Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires).
Thanks for all the info. As a Bariloche native (and a crew member at a major US airline), it’s great to have your input re: aviation activities in Argentina.