BQB Líneas Aéreas (Punta del Este) has abandoned plans to establish a presence in Chile this year and will instead try again in 2015. Chile's Diario Financiero states the decision to withdraw from the market came as a result of the Uruguayan civil aviation authority's (Dirección Nacional de Aviación Civil e Infraestructura Aeronáutica - DINACIA) decision to withhold approval for the carrier's now returned A319-100. The twinjet was to have been used on Chilean and Brazilian flights.
The announcement comes as the Uruguayan carrier pushes ahead with a restructuring plan that has so far seen the suspension of all its Brazilian routes as well as the laying off of over 50 personnel.
BQB gained its Chilean Air Operators Certificate (AOC) in January this year allowing it to operate both domestic and international, scheduled and charter commercial passenger flights.
It has since emerged that nascent start-up, Alas Uruguay (Montevideo Carrasco), has requested Chilean traffic rights ahead of its proposed launch later this year.
