Latin America banning, curtailing flights: Update

Adds Argentina, Peru flight bans, updates virus cases.

Latin American countries are banning flights and air carriers are curtailing service in response to the coronavirus, which is just starting to penetrate a region where public health systems are overwhelmingly weak.

Argentina's president Alberto Fernández announced tonight that all flights from the US, Europe, South Korea, Japan, China and Iran would be suspended for 30 days.

It is unclear when the measure will take effect but Fernandez assured there would be actions to "facilitate the return of Argentinian residents from these countries."

Peru's government banned incoming flights from Europe and Asia, without immediately specifying the affected countries or the timeframe.

Bolivia's interim government suspended all flights from Europe starting at midnight on 14 March.

Venezuela's government canceled all international flights from Europe and Colombia for 30 days effective immediately. Service into and out of the US-sanctioned Opec country were already limited because of longstanding payment delays, fuel shortages and a lack of security.

In the Caribbean, Jamaica has canceled flights from the UK.

Even before the flight bans, regional airlines were scaling back operations. Chile's Latam Airlines said it was paring back its international service by 30pc in response to a drop in demand and government restrictions aimed at slowing contagion. Mainly affected are flights between South America and Europe and the US from 1 April through 30 May.

Latam also suspended its 2020 guidance for investors and will temporarily suspend new investments, costs and contracts. But Latam said it will not alter domestic flights in Brazil and Chile where it sees no significant impact on demand.

Colombia's flagship carrier Avianca, Latam's main competitor, canceled its daily Cali-Madrid service and reduced the frequency of its Bogota-Munich flights to four per week from a previous five per week.

State-owned Aerolineas Argentinas canceled flights to Rome through early April. Miami flights were also canceled for 18-26 March.

Aeromexico, which is partly owned by Delta, cut its Mexico City-Seoul flights by 50pc for March.

In Brazil, the third largest airline Azul cut international flights by up to 30pc. The carrier said it was putting its domestic growth plans on hold and would continue to replace its fleet of E1 aircraft, but would put incremental deliveries of new planes on hold.

Brazil's largest domestic airline, Gol, which mainly operates in the domestic market, told Argus that it has not reduced its flights.

Brazil's infrastructure ministry says it is weighing measures to help the country's airlines, including a possible payroll tax cut.

Already reeling

Across the region, governments have implemented mandatory health declarations and home quarantines for passengers arriving from hard-hit countries, a list that is now growing to include the US, which banned air travel for non-Americans arriving from most countries in Europe for 30 days beginning at midnight on 13 March.

Among the countries with the toughest measures is El Salvador, which started sending arriving international passengers into collective quarantine for 30 days, and is starting to block foreign visitors altogether.

Peru's president Martin Vizcarra says he plans to coordinate a conference call with other South American leaders to discuss a regional response to the global health crisis. Latin America is already reeling from sharp currency depreciations and collapsing oil prices that are hurting oil exporters.

Most countries in the region now have a modest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, led by Brazil with 52, Chile 23, Costa Rica 22, Argentina 19, Ecuador 17, Peru 15 and Mexico 12, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.