Reconquista waits no more: the municipality requests to sign an agreement with American Jet to restore flights
Amid the lack of clear decisions from the Santa Fe provincial government, Reconquista Mayor Amadeo Enrique Vallejos has renewed his request for the municipality to sign a direct agreement with airline American Jet to restore regular flights to Buenos Aires, according to a report by ReconquistaHOY.
In an interview with Radio HOY on Thursday, April 24, Vallejos explained that efforts to resume flights are progressing through talks with various sectors. He also recalled that the Chamber of Foreign Trade of Northern Santa Fe recently submitted a letter to Governor Maximiliano Pullaro as a "last resort" to seek official support for the public-private initiative. According to ReconquistaHOY, the mayor expressed regret that "it’s been almost a month" since the request was sent without receiving a concrete response.
Vallejos further noted that the Regional Development Association, which had initially been expected to formalize the agreement with the airline, would not be able to do so due to "issues that will be explained later by the association’s leadership," in his own words.
In light of this, the city government has requested authorization from the City Council to move forward with a direct agreement with American Jet.
"We are convinced that this is a vital service to prevent the North from remaining disconnected, as it currently is — not only do we lack air service, but bus service is also insufficient to meet the high demand," Vallejos said, as quoted by ReconquistaHOY.
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The absence of regular flights has significantly impacted the connectivity of Reconquista and surrounding towns, where ground transportation options remain limited amid growing population needs.
Aerolíneas Argentinas was the last airline to operate regular flights to Reconquista, from June 2023 to March 2024, under an agreement where the municipality guaranteed a 65% seat occupancy rate, covering the difference if that target was not met. This eventually led to a legal claim from Aerolíneas Argentinas over an alleged debt of 60 million pesos owed by the municipality.
This was not the first time Reconquista had subsidized air connectivity with Buenos Aires through support from regional business entities. Before Aerolíneas Argentinas, LADE operated biweekly flights in 2023, and in previous years, companies such as Avianca Argentina, Aerochaco-Macair, and Flyest also received financial backing.
At the end of last year, American Jet announced plans to add nine aircraft with capacities ranging from 50 to 100 seats in 2025 to enter the scheduled flight market. However, no further updates on those plans have been released so far.
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