The Unprecedented Crisis Facing Latin American Air Carriers
By
Kris Urs
It’s not just passengers – entire economies will suffer unless governments step in.
Three decades ago, as a young diplomat in Nicaragua, I looked on in surprise as workers loaded hundreds of pounds of freshly caught sea bass from the Caribbean shore onto a LACSA (now Avianca) flight bound for the United States Such scenes are no longer cause for surprise Latin America’s shift to higher-value exports has been accompanied by a shift from sea- to air-based shipping, and items such as freshly cut flowers, specialty fruits and vegetables, fresh seafood (both farmed and wild) and late-season textiles often travel to market by air, sometimes stored just feet below departing...
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