Argentina's civil aviation authority (Administración Nacional de Aviación Civil - ANAC) is set to grant 135 route authorities to five local operators including established carriers Andes Líneas Aéreas and American Jet (Argentina) as well as start-ups Alas del Sur, Flybondi, and Avian Líneas Aéreas (also known as Avianca Argentina).

In an official opinion published Monday, February 13, ANAC's route determination board (Junta Asesora del Transporte Aéreo - JATA) recommended the following carriers be granted the following number of authorities:

  • Andes Líneas Aéreas: All seven routes requested (Andes had not asked for more since its previous requests were approved at a JATA 2005 hearing);
  • American Jet: Operations employing large aircraft were authorized as were all thirteen routes requested;
  • Avian Líneas Aéreas: All sixteen routes requested;
  • Alas del Sur: All twenty-one route authorities requested although many were modified through the removal of intermediate stops. According to JATA, this was done over demand concerns;
  • Flybondi: Only seventy-eight of the ninety-nine routes requested were approved of which thirty-eight are international and forty domestic.

The carriers have three months henceforth to prove their technical abilities before they can start flying the routes, JATA said.

It is to be noted, however, that JATA's opinions count only as recommendations and are not legally binding. In order to become so, they must first be approved by ANAC and the Ministry of Transport. An official, finalized determination is expected in the coming two weeks.