THE GOVERNMENTS of Brazil and Argentina have signed a new open skies aviation policy that will facilitate increased air connections between the two countries.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the respective civil aviation authorities will eliminate the weekly limits on regular passenger flights and widen the scope for cargo flights. Until now, airlines from each country were collectively limited to a maximum of 170 weekly links. The MoU expands permission for cargo service operations by allowing airlines from both countries to transport international cargo without the requirement that the operation start or finish in the company’s country of origin, under ‘Seventh Freedom’ rights.
Brazil has negotiated similar rights for cargo operations with Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. It comes as Brazilian airline Azul announced it will be returning to Argentina later this year – the first time since COVID-19 forced the airline to suspend services in 2020.