The Argentine Foreign Ministry reported that everything is ready to start two humanitarian charter flights through Aerolineas Argentinas that allow citizens stranded in the Malvinas Islands due to the pandemic, mostly of Chilean origin, to travel to their cities of origin and address problems personal, health or family.
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The flights that regularly connect these islands with the mainland have not been operational since March 2020, when, for health reasons, restrictions on land transit with Chile also came into force.
The Foreign Ministry expressed through a statement that with this proposal for humanitarian flights, formulated in early December, the Government of President Alberto Fernández “seeks to help overcome the negative consequences produced by the pandemic.”
To the above, the Executive added its agreement that the planes take off from the Argentine mainland and land in the Chilean city of Punta Arenas, located in the Magallanes region (south), or at any other airport in that country.
The statement recalled that the proposal to offer these charter flights is a gesture of goodwill and initiative of the Casa Rosada.
In that sense, he pointed out that before Argentina made the offer, “there was no request from the UK government in this regard,” and pointed out that London’s reactions “have been in response to offers from the national government.”
The Foreign Ministry stated that Argentina “has had nothing to do with the situation of air disconnection” of the islands, and that the United Kingdom has “attributed” to the local government the refusal to resume the regular flight that covers the route between Punta Arenas, the Argentine city Río Gallegos and Malvinas.
Given this situation, the statement made it clear that everything related to regular flights to the islands concerns the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom, and that “they do not depend on the decision of the illegitimate island government and the airline.”
According to the text, during 2020 and 2021 Argentina reiterated the proposal for regular flights with the flag airline between the Falklands and the Argentine mainland.
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