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Chilean carrier LATAM will restart its service between Melbourne and Santiago on 1 September, restoring flights between Victoria and South America for the first time post-COVID. The airline will fly three weekly services on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with flights to Santiago departing Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as LA804 and flights to Melbourne operating Monday, Wednesday and Friday as LA805.
“There has been a huge demand for travel to the region, and we are thrilled to be able to meet the needs of travellers, starting with over 900 seats a week on our Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft,” said Chris Ellis, country manager – Oceania, LATAM Airlines. “For the past year, we have been building our capacity in Sydney, and it’s a pleasure to be taking up residence again in Melbourne Airport as we expand our footprint in Australia. “LATAM has the largest network in Latin America with connections to 144 destinations, including some of the greatest bucket list destinations in the world.” Lorie Argus, CEO of Melbourne Airport, has welcomed the resumption of the Melbourne-Santiago service, saying the airport is “very excited” to have LATAM back.
“We know this growing market is important for local exporters but also for an increasing number of Victorians wanting to visit friends and family, and LATAM’s extensive network means millions more people now have one-stop access to our great state,” she said. LATAM resumed direct flights between Sydney and Santiago on 29 March last year, as well as to Auckland. At the time, Claudio Moro, regional marketing and e-commerce manager at LATAM, said the airline had “actively collaborated” with authorities to safely revive the travel industry after COVID border closures ended. “The resumption of routes to New Zealand and Australia is one more step on the way to a new normal,” he said.
“We will continue working toward greater international connectivity, always having the health and safety of our passengers and collaborators as a priority.” LATAM, during the pandemic, flew a chartered repatriation service from Peru to Melbourne, carrying 280 passengers from Lima, Cusco and Iquitos.