Australians and New Zealanders hoping to fly to South America may be forced to get a refund after LATAM Airlines announced the cancellation of flights to the Chilean capital Santiago in March.
In an posted to LATAM's website, the airline said "due to operational needs, flight cancellations involving Sydney (SYD) and Auckland (AKL) airports will be extended from March 1st through March 28th 2022”.
For many, the news came as yet another disappointment following almost two years of travel restrictions affecting both regions, a period that saw travel to Latin America affected by a lack of flights and the exorbitant price of plane tickets.
In the announcement, LATAM said passengers could fly via Delta or Qatar airlines, due to an agreement it had with the carriers.
The news angered hundreds of people who bought tickets directly with the airline, according to messages posted on social media complaining about flight cancellations, lack of information, delays in refunds and hours of waiting on the phone.
Highlights:
- LATAM Airlines, one of the main operators in the Southern Hemisphere, says that direct round trip flights - Sydney-Santiago, with a stopover in Auckland- have been cancelled due to the number of "COVID-19 cases and to the government’s decisions in each region".
- This change in schedule has meant LATAM had to cancel 13 flights between Sydney and Santiago in March 2022. Approximately 2,000 passengers with bookings from Sydney to Santiago have been impacted
- The information, accompanied by an apology, was published on the company's social media channels.
- LATAM operates three weekly roundtrip flights on the Sydney-Auckland-Santiago route.
"The cancellation in March is hugely frustrating. I wasn't expecting it because we have issued a large number of tickets," Sydney-based travel agent Luis Cuadros told .
“Why do they keep selling if they cancel the flights? They make money by selling and then they don't respond,” Andrea Ximena Santibáñez wrote in a post on a LATAM social media account, while Roxana Janet Cona complained in that same Facebook thread that her ticket was cancelled with no explanation.
"Shame on you LATAM Airlines doing that in such hard times when you know people are desperate to go see their families! I'm still waiting for my full refund," Ms Cona said in a message.
Another commenter, Jose O'Connor, said: “You’ve been selling tickets just to increase your cash flow and have been cancelling the flights since then. It’s the second time my flights are cancelled and now I’m waiting for the third one. Everyone, do yourself a favour and don't fly with these guys. Go via the US and relieve yourself of stress and, most importantly, prevent scam.”
A number of Brazilians in Australia purchased tickets in November when LATAM announced the resumption of flights between South America and Australia.
Source: Facebook/LATAM
Juliane Ludsher, from the Gold Coast, told that while checking her flight details, she noticed that a "section" of the trip, which is the main one between Santiago and Sydney - that she purchased for her in-laws to come to Australia from Brazil - had been cancelled.
Ms Ludsher said she has not been informed about any changes and was surprised to see that the cancelled section was between Santiago and Sydney, while domestic flights from João Pessoa to São Paulo in Brazil and Sydney to the Gold Coast in Australia were still offered by the airline.
LATAM cancela vuelos de Australia y Nueva Zelanda a Chile pese a emisión de billetes
"I did it all through an online booking agency and now I want my money back because they want me to pay for the domestic flights, but the main route was cancelled. In total it's $3,100 Australian dollars they want me to pay for a LATAM cancelled flight."
Only one direct connection to Latin America
LATAM Airlines is the only company that currently flies directly to Latin America, given that the national airlines of Australia and New Zealand have not resumed trips to the region, Mr Cuadros explains.
Many Latin Americans who do not have Australian citizenship, only a residence or a temporary visa, have to travel through the United States or the Middle East and Europe to make flight connections, making the prospect of travel more complex and expensive.
For those who do not hold an Australian passport, travelling via the United States is problematic, as requesting US transit or tourist visas is expensive, requires time, and visas are often denied, Mr Cuadros adds.
LATAM argues that flights have been cancelled due to the number of "COVID-19 cases and the government’s decisions in each country".
Rafael Walker, director of LATAM Customer Service, said the company is working tirelessly to minimise the impact of the Omicron wave of cases on the company's flights, although It is not clear if this decision is linked to the cancellation of flights between Australia and Chile.
“Unfortunately, in recent days we have seen an increase in the number of infections on some of our flights. I would like to apologise for the inconvenience, but we assure you that we are working day and night to minimise the impact of this new wave," Mr Walker said.
Sandra Boavida, the owner of a travel agency in Melbourne, predicts that there will be no flights on the Sydney-Auckland-Santiago route until June.
Posts pelo facebook com brasileiros na Austrália em busca de mais informações Source: Facebook
She explained that there are various reasons why a number of carriers are cancelling routes that pass through New Zealand, a country that keeps its borders closed to tourists, which would only be allowed to enter without restrictions on a date to be determined in October.
Because of COVID-19, New Zealand is closed to tourism, including some transit flights, which cut the route, Ms Boavida said.
Unlike Australia, which will open its doors to tourism on February 21, the New Zealand government has signalled an October opening date.
The situation is constantly changing, warned Ms Boavida, and dependent on the decisions of the governments and the situation of the pandemic in each country, but for now the alternative is to find another route.
Juliane Ludsher, de Gold Coast, disse que descobriu que um ‘trecho’ da viagem que comprou para os sogros virem do Brasil para a Austrália ida e volta foram canc Source: Supplied
"Currently, the New Zealand border is closed to almost all travellers to help stop the spread of COVID-19," she said.
However, a LATAM spokesperson in Australia told SBS Portuguese that the airlines would resume the flight service from Sydney via Auckland to Santiago on March 29, 2022.
"These services will operate three times a week and LATAM intends to increase to five weekly flights from July 1, 2022".
Go through the Middle East and Europe
According to travel agent Luis Cuadros, the safest bet right now is to travel going through the Middle East and Europe, a trip that can cost between $2,900 and $5,100, and takes up to 40 hours with stopovers to the nearest destination, which is Venezuela.
Paula Camila Cheron Raper, who bought Sydney-Sao Paulo tickets for May 2022, said she had trouble booking the trip for her family with two young children.
LATAM cancela vuelos de Australia y Nueva Zelanda a Chile pese a emisión de billetes. Quejas de clientes en Facebook
She's still unsure if she's going to be able to board.
She says she spent more than ten hours on the phone with the company, made complaints and open letters on social media and only received a response on Twitter saying that the trips depend on the decisions of the government of each country.
"I intend to change my route, go through Dubai or Doha, I am very stressed with all this, I also want to go ahead and take measures so that the company treats us better," she said.
SOURCE: SBS PORTUGUESE, SBS SPANISH
