El Al plans to launch direct flights from Tel Aviv to Buenos Aires in a renewed foray to South America, Argentina’s ambassador to Israel said on Friday.
An official announcement of the long-awaited move will be made during Argentine President Javiel Milei’s June 9-11 visit to Israel, Ambassador Axel Wahnish wrote on X.
The visit will be the second in as many years for the Argentine leader, who has emerged as one of Israel’s strongest supporters around the globe.
An El Al spokeswoman said on Sunday that no date had been set yet for the inauguration of the flights, and that the issue was still being discussed.
El Al operated flights to Brazil for two years over a decade and a half ago, but its short-lived service to Sao Paulo was stopped in 2011.
Argentina’s Jewish community is the largest in Latin America, with an estimated 170,000 members, mostly in the capital.
The new route could be challenging for Israel’s flagship carrier, according to travel experts.
“El Al has tried flights to South America in the past, and after a short period, has had to close them down,” Mark Feldman, CEO of Ziontours, told JNS on Sunday. “Is the market in Buenos Aires larger than São Paulo? Hard to say whether they’re relying on the Catholic market in South America to visit Israel, or on the Jewish population.”
He added that El Al often chooses to inaugurate or shut down routes based on “emotional reasoning rather than hard market data,” citing curtailed service to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Toronto, Canada.
