Following the issuance of Resolution 445/16 by the Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) on July 16 2016, the National Directorate of Air Transport (DNTA) was tasked with establishing a system to evaluate airlines' compliance with their flight schedules.(1) The aim is to increase air transportation efficiency for passengers and provide the ANAC with additional tools to evaluate the performance of scheduled carriers.

Evaluation

As the DNTA must be as objective as possible when evaluating the compliance of airlines with their flight schedules, it examines those airlines which together operate 80% of commercial passenger flights to and from Argentina. The DNTA will assess which carriers need to be included in this threshold every six months.

The DNTA will compare the punctuality of flights operated by the chosen carriers based on the above parameters. The carriers examined will be considered to be punctual if they comply with the DNTA's approved flight schedules within a 15-minute leniency threshold. The chosen carriers will be monitored by the DNTA's Department of Inspection and Promotion of the Direction of Exploitation of Aerial Commercial Services. If the department considers that a carrier has provided false information, it may start summary proceedings.

The DNTA will publish its evaluation results quarterly on its website. If the DNTA finds that an airline should be included in the 80% threshold of passenger traffic, it will notify the carrier of its requirement to provide the DNTA with the relevant information within 60 days.

Carriers

In compliance with Article 4 of Resolution 445/16, the following carriers must provide the information listed in Annex II, which will be published on the ANAC's website, within 10 days from the end of each quarter:

  • Aerolineas Argentinas;
  • Austral Lineas Aereas;
  • Austral Lineas Aereas Cielos del Sur SA;
  • VRG SA;
  • Gol Linhas Aereas;
  • TAM TRansportes Aereos Medirionales SA;
  • American Airlines;
  • Lan Peru;
  • Compañia Panameña de Aviacion;
  • Lan Argentina SA;
  • Transportes Aereos del Mercosur;
  • Sky Airline SA; and
  • TACA Peru.

These carriers must provide the following flight information to the DNTA:

  • flight dates;
  • International Air Transport Association (IATA) codes;
  • flight numbers;
  • flight origins and destinations;
  • estimated departure times; and
  • any delays in minutes and the corresponding IATA code for the delay.

For further information on this topic please contact Elizabeth Mireya Freidenberg at Freidenberg Freidenberg & Lifsic by telephone (+54 11 4311 4991) or email ([email protected]).

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Endnotes

(1) For further information please see "New Civil Aviation Authority regulation".