Aerolineas Argentinas reopened its connection between Buenos Aires and Havana this Monday, as they had announced last April.
It does, this had also been announced, with three weekly flights between both capitals, one more than it did before the company ceased operations in Cuba, in 2016.
Before, the government of Mauricio Macri had made the decision to restructure the airline to reduce the deficit it represented for the State: nationalized in 2008, the company cost the country around two million dollars a day.
The savings plan had a significant effect on ships and, consequently, the routes operated were reduced. At that time, those responsible argued that Cuba had become a very expensive destination, something that lamented Havana.
The president of the company assures that the connection “will contribute to deepen the cultural, economic and tourist exchange between both countries”
This Monday, the president of Aerolineas Argentinas, Pablo Ceriani, assured, in statements collected by the official pressthat the route is “highly requested by tourist agencies and operators, both from Argentina and from different places in the region”, and that the resumption of the connection “will contribute to deepening the cultural, economic and tourist exchange between both countries”.
Similarly, the Minister of Tourism of Cuba in Argentina, Janet Ayala, declared that “this route is highly demanded in the market because the main limitation to growth in the emission of travelers to the Island is air connectivity.”
However, according to official data, Cuba is not a relevant tourist or commercial destination for Argentina. In fact, when he announced the resumption of flights to Havana three months ago, Ceriani did not provide data that would allow evaluating the profitability of that route.
Critical voices then attributed the decision to the political closeness between the Cuban regime and the Argentine vice president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who owes Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel a personal debt for having given shelter to his daughter, Florenciawhen she was being investigated in her country for money laundering.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
