LAN Airlines has announced that it will operate its first service on the Santiago-Auckland-Sydney route since a major earthquake struck the country on February 28, with the inbound service arriving on March 6.
The airline had temporarily suspended operations on the route due to damage to the international terminal at Santiago Airport, and has now erected a marquee as a temporary check-in facility, and is using buses to transport passengers to and from aircraft. The airline has been resuming limited operations at the airport since March 2, with a focus on clearing its backlog of passengers who have been affected by the cancellations.
LAN says that it hopes to resume its full schedule of six flights per week to Auckland and Sydney by the end of next week.