Peru accepting flights from North American airports

Peru has launched phase two of reinstating international flights, with several North American destinations now cleared for service to the country.

Commercial air operations in Peru essentially ground to a halt at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. The country resumed some domestic service in July, followed by the restart of international service on Oct. 5 to destinations in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Lima Airport (LIM) (pictured) serves as Peru's primary international gateway.

As of Nov. 1, airlines were allowed to resume flights between Peru and 25 additional international destinations including Atlanta (ATL), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK) and Toronto (YYZ). Airlines are now free to operate flights from Peru to cities in El Salvador, Argentina and Brazil.

Passengers traveling to Peru are required to show negative results from a COVID-19 test that is less than 72 hours old.

Peru’s minister of transport Carlos Estremadoyro stated that passengers have responded positively to health protocols and are abiding by the required procedures at airports and onboard aircraft.

The Peruvian government has calculated that 56,000 passengers will travel between Nov. 1 to Nov 10 due to the latest expansion of international air services. However, that’s a 71% decrease compared to the same period in 2019.

Data from the country’s government show that Peru’s passenger levels fell roughly 66% between January and August of this year to approximately 6 million. In August, Peru’s passenger counts plummeted by 92% as the country was in the midst of relaunching commercial flights.

Prior to the pandemic, Peru was charting solid passenger growth. In 2019, the country posted passenger growth of 6.6% to 26.2 million. Domestic passenger levels grew by 8.8% to 13.8 million, and international passenger counts grew 4.3% to 12.4 million.

Photo credit: Lima Airport Partners

Lori Ranson

Lori covers North American and Latin airlines for Aviation Week and is also a Senior Analyst for CAPA - Centre for Aviation.