Buenos Aires' Ezeiza airport is operating with a single, shortened runway until Nov. 11, and it has knocked out most of the city's long-haul flights. Fourteen airlines, including United, Delta and American, have paused their flights to and from Ezeiza for the 18 days of runway works, according to Argentine media. Others are still flying but adding refueling stops in Rio de Janeiro or Montevideo on the way. If you're flying to or from Buenos Aires before mid-November, here's who's still going and what to do.
Latest Updates
Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. ET: The runway works are in their fourth day. Flight tracking shows no United, Delta or American flights scheduled out of Ezeiza over the next week, while Iberia and Air Europa flights are listed with stops in Montevideo.
Why Big Planes Can't Fly
Ezeiza normally uses a runway about 3,300 meters (about 10,800 feet) long. While crews rebuild the airport's second runway and the spot where it crosses the main one, only about 1,850 meters (about 6,100 feet) can be used, a little over half the usual length. That's plenty for the smaller planes that fly around South America. It isn't enough for a fully loaded long-haul plane to take off with all the fuel it needs to reach the US or Europe.
Airlines have two choices: stop flying, or take off lighter and stop somewhere on the way to refuel. Most of the big international airlines chose to stop. The work runs from Oct. 25 to Nov. 11 and is part of a $110 million upgrade by the airport's operator, Aeropuertos Argentina.
Who's Paused Flights
These 14 airlines have suspended their Ezeiza flights for the length of the works:
- From the US, Canada and Mexico: United, Delta, American, Air Canada and Aeroméxico
- From Europe: Air France, KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, SWISS and Turkish Airlines
- From the Middle East, Africa and Asia: Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines and China Eastern
Who's Still Flying
A handful of airlines are keeping their flights going with changes. Aerolíneas Argentinas, the national airline, is stopping in Rio de Janeiro on its flights to Madrid and Rome. Iberia is flying two daily Madrid flights with a stop in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Air Europa and Level are stopping there too. Plus Ultra is keeping two weekly Madrid flights. Copa is refueling in Rosario or Córdoba before Panama and letting affected passengers change flights for free, while LATAM has suspended its Buenos Aires–Miami route.
Airlines flying smaller planes around South America, including GOL, Avianca, JetSMART and Sky Airline, are reportedly flying as normal. Expect a stop, a longer trip and possibly a schedule change on most long-haul flights that are still running.
Buenos Aires Ezeiza · Oct. 25 to Nov. 11
One Short Runway, Far Fewer Flights
usable runway, down from 3,300 m. Too short for most fully loaded long-haul planes.
LATAM's Buenos Aires–Miami route is suspended. Check your booking: airlines are offering rebooking or refunds.
Contrail
If You're Booked
If your airline is one of the 14 that paused flights, it should already have contacted you with options. According to Argentine reports, those include rebooking onto a later date, a refund or flying from another airport, but the details depend on the airline, so check your booking or call them directly. If you're flying from the US, one route around the closure is connecting through a South American hub like São Paulo, Santiago, Lima, Bogotá or Panama City on an airline still serving Buenos Aires.
It also helps to know that Buenos Aires has two airports. Ezeiza handles most long-haul flights, while Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, right by the city center, handles most domestic and regional ones. I saw how differently they work in May, when I landed at Ezeiza and had to cross the city to Aeroparque to catch a short LATAM flight. You can read about that trip in my LATAM review. If your trip involves both airports, give yourself plenty of time to get between them, and check which one each of your flights actually uses.
If you're on a flight that's adding a stop, plan for a longer journey and check your connections at the other end. And if your trip is flexible, the simplest fix is moving it past Nov. 11. It's the second big airport shutdown this fall, after Naplescloses for all of November, so it's worth checking your airport, not just your flight, before any trip this season.
