The government of the Malvinas Islands launched a
harsh statement
against Argentina, which they accuse of hindering the
reestablishment of a flight
that connects the South Atlantic archipelago
with Brazil
.
The kelpers
pointed to the administration of Alberto Fernández for "cancelling or postponing" meetings
on the matter and announced that they will look for alternatives that do not involve "overflights from Argentina."
The islanders counted two weekly routes
operated by LATAM
until 2020 ,
one from Punta Arenas (Chile) and another from San Pablo (Brazil)
, effective as of 2019. Once a month, both
made a stopover in Argentina, in Río Gallegos and Cordoba
, respectively.
However, the coronavirus restrictions cut those regular flights and they barely maintained air connections with the United Kingdom.
Last July, the
kelpers
restored the flight from Santiago de Chile.
But
the San Pablo-Mount Pleasant route is still on hold
.
"The Government of the Falkland Islands
strongly condemns
Argentina's decision to reject the permit for an air connection", is the headline of the harsh statement released on Monday by the island's administration, which was
"saddened and disappointed"
by the Argentine rejection of an overflight of planes between Brazil and the Malvinas.
They explained that the intention to start negotiations for the Brazil-Malvinas trade route has been firm since the beginning of 2022 and that any management requires the participation of the kelpers, British representatives and Argentine representatives.
However, since then the Argentine government
"cancelled or postponed" its presence in those meetings.
"The Government of the Falkland Islands will look for
other viable options
, including those that do not require an Argentine overflight, but will always be open to restarting this connection," they noted.
Mark Pollard (left), councilor of the Malvinas Islands, questioned the government of Alberto Fernández.
"The Argentine government continues to deny us our self-determination and uses every opportunity to force sanctions on our people and punish us for the legitimate exercise of our democratic rights," said Mark Pollard, a member of the local Legislative Assembly.
He reiterated the refusal of "the islanders" to discuss "a direct flight to Buenos Aires or the possibility of the Argentine national airline [by Aerolíneas Argentinas] entering the Falklands," Pollard continued.
"It is incredible that these points continue to be considered bargaining chips by a government that treats us, without provocation, with
open and continuous hostility
."
Finally, they clarified that
the contract with LATAM will be extended
, with the hope that the San Pablo-Malvinas flight "will be restarted in the future once more cooperative discussions can be held."
How is the route between San Pablo and the Falkland Islands
This airline is the one that has been flying
for more than 20 years
between Punta Arenas and the Malvinas Islands, with a monthly stopover in Río Gallegos, in compliance with a decree signed in 1999 by the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom.
In July 2018, it was chosen by the islanders to carry out the second route with the mainland, which came into operation on November 21, 2019 and uses Boeing 767 aircraft with a capacity for
221 passengers
(191 in Economy and 30 in Premium Business).
The venture faced resistance from some sectors of national politics, which requested a precautionary measure to suspend those flights.
He was supported by a part of Peronism and the prosecutor Jorge Di Lello.
With the signature of the lawyer Valeria Carreras, the appeal described the air connection as "unconstitutional", since -they pointed out at that time- the agreement had to be dealt with first in Congress.
However, federal judge Luis Rodríguez rejected the request.
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