Qatar Airways will stop operating passenger flights to Argentina.

The options of the aerocommercial market in Argentina continue to be limited as the paralysis of the activity is extended. Although it has not yet made the formal announcement, Qatar Airways confirmed to specialized media that it will stop flying its route between Buenos Aires and Doha and will only maintain its cargo operation in the country. Thus, it joins a list of airlines that made similar decisions, such as Latam Airlines, Air New Zeland and Emirates, and reduces the possibilities of connecting Argentina with Asia and other remote destinations.

“After a review of operations, Qatar Airways has announced the decision to close its services from Doha (DOH) to Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE), Buenos Aires, Argentina, due to the global impact on airlines and the negative conditions of the current market,” confirmed the company from Doha to the portals Aviacionline and Sir Chandler.

The company assured that it has already communicated the decision to all affected employees and is working “with interested parties and relevant authorities” to ensure “that they are informed of this closure. The company has been operating in Argentina since 2010 and has about 20 employees in its offices in the country.

“Our focus now remains on ensuring that colleagues who leave the business during the next few weeks are treated professionally, with the utmost respect and compassion at this difficult time,” they added in the official text.

According to the information provided by the company at the beginning of the air transport restrictions in place, Qatar Airways planned to maintain its operations in the country, despite the fact that already in 2019 it had recorded a decline in profits due to the widespread economic crisis. In addition, in May it officially announced a plan to expand its global network, with the aim of reaching 80 destinations: 23 in Europe, four in the Americas, 20 in the Middle East and Africa and 33 in Asia-Pacific.

According to company spokespersons, by the beginning of 2020 demand had begun to recover in Argentina, but the crisis unleashed by Covid-19 dealt it a new blow and meant a paralysis of its passenger service, even in those segments that maintained their level despite the crisis, such as the corporate sector. It is worth mentioning that the Catarí airline is strong in the transfer of executives between Argentina and Asian countries.

At the time of the coronavirus interruption, Qatar had a daily flight from Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo, from where it connected to destinations all over the world including Asia, Oceania and Africa. In addition, in recent months the company had made some special flights, connecting Buenos Aires to Doha via Sao Paulo.

However, while in recent months the rest of the airlines began to reorganize flight itineraries to resume operations in September -a date already ruled out, but which the industry had been taking since April as a reference for the reactivation- Qatar remained on the sidelines and did not give a hint of its post-pandemic flight plan.

Qatar’s decision is not the first in this direction. At the end of April, Air New Zealand announced that it would not resume operations in Argentina, which eliminated direct flights from Argentina to Oceania, as it was the only airline offering non-stop flights. In June Latam Airlines, the second most important company in the local market, only behind Aerolíneas Argentinas, also announced its withdrawal and the closure of its offices after 15 years of operation in the country.

By Delfina Torres Cabreros – La Nación