Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chile recorded a sharp drop in passenger and cargo traffic, both national and international, in April, according to the report published by the Civil Aeronautics Board (JAC) of the Chilean Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications.

According to the figures during the last month, 111,600 passengers were transported on national and international flights, which means a drop of 94.5% when compared to the same period in 2019. Of the total, 100,321 passengers were transported within Chile, which is equivalent to a decrease of 91.2%, compared to the same month of 2019.

In March, 1,378,894 passengers were transported in the country.

The general secretary of the JAC, Martín Mackenna, told Emol that one of the main effects of the pandemic on air transport is “a break in the growth trend that we have been registering in the last decade, so we estimate that this year we will have a cumulative reduction of 40%.”

In cargo transport, the fall recorded was milder. In April, 24,065 tons of cargo were transported on national and international flights, a reduction of 28.3% in relation to April 2019.