Uruguay, a small South American country between Argentina and Brazil, has been living with an uncomfortable situation since 2012: the absence of a flag carrier.
Amaszonas Uruguay operated flights in the region since 2016, but the initiative was limited until its closure in 2021.
On Monday, however, an announcement should change this panorama: the launch of Sociedad Uruguaya de Aviación (SUA), Uruguay’s future flag carrier.
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The details of the project are still scarce, however. Local media reports that Arab investors are behind the airline, which will operate Airbus A220-300 aircraft under wet lease with AirBaltic.
There are also reports that six jets will be operated and that SUA intends to have a maintenance and support base for the A220 in South America, including a flight simulator.
The destinations will be announced during the announcement, but the plan is to launch flights from the end of the year and reach 10 aircraft in the medium term.
The initiative would have the support of the Uruguayan government, which predicted the launch of a national airline exactly one year ago, without revealing which private group was involved in the project.
Pluna closed operations in 2012
Uruguay had a flag airline for many years, Pluna, founded as a private company in 1936 and nationalized in 1951.
Although with a small fleet of aircraft, the carrier even had flights between Montevideo and New York and Miami, in the United States, using old Boeing 707s.
In 1995, the government of Uruguay sold part of Pluna’s capital to a consortium of Argentine companies and, later, to VARIG, from Brazil.
However, in the following years economic problems in neighboring Argentina and Brazil ended up causing losses to Pluna, then with a renewed fleet of Bombardier CRJ-900 regional jets.
In 2012, amid high debts, Pluna’s operations were suspended and its assets were auctioned, including seven CRJ-900 jets.
