Argentinean President Javier Milei who is visiting Israel for several days and will even light a torch during the Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, will announce the launching of direct flights between Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires. The move has been planned for most of the past year.
After winning the tender published by the Israeli government, El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE:ELAL) has confirmed, "The route will begin operating this November, with two weekly flights for nearly a year in the first stage, in order to test the demand for direct traffic between the countries. Ticket sales for the line are expected to open in May.
This is one of the longest and most complex routes El Al will have operated operate, with a flight time of 16.5 hours to Latin America and 15.5 hours return. Due to the difficulty of operating a line to Argentina profitably, given the extremely high operating costs, a government subsidy of about NIS 44 million has been allocated. For comparison, the longest route currently operated by El Al is to Los Angeles, which is about 15.5 hours each way.
The flight routes also provide challenges. The most viable route passes over the Mediterranean, across Morocco, and south along the Atlantic coast of Africa. This is a detour that extends the flight time to 15.5-16 hours and increases operating costs but is thought safer from an operational perspective. Shorter, more direct routes, via Libya or Sudan, would cut flight time to 13.5-14.5 hours, but it is not possible at this stage to fly over Libya, and there is a war going on in Sudan that puts civilian flights at risk.
Such a long flight requires the use of wide-body aircraft with full range, and its operation depends on utilizing the shortest possible route to meet the performance limitations of civilian aircraft. This means reassigning aircraft that operate profitable routes to the US and East Asia, in favor of the new route.
When was the last time the government subsidized air routes?
This is a relatively unusual move in Israel’s aviation industry, but not without precedent, in which the government subsidizes operating costs. Similar steps have been taken in Israel in the past, for example in the context of supporting the renewal of flights to Eilat, when the state participated in the cost based on the number of passengers, as well as in cases of political interest, such as keeping open the route between Tel Aviv and Cairo.
However, these are much shorter routes, and their operating costs do not come close to that of the route to Buenos Aires. This is also a familiar practice worldwide: countries operate subsidy mechanisms for routes that are perceived as essential from a national or diplomatic point of view, but are not commercially profitable for the airlines.
The examination of the possibility of operating the line comes after previous attempts to operate direct flights to Latin America were unsuccessful. For example, the route between Tel Aviv and Sao Paulo in Brazil, which El Al launched in 2008, was closed after only two years due to record fuel prices - even though Sao Paulo has wider connectivity to other destinations on the continent.
Ultimately, this is a route that exists less for commercial considerations and more for political considerations. Without government subsidies and political push, it is doubtful that it would have been implemented. Jet fuel prices, which have soared recently, are particularly burdensome on long-haul routes, in which fuel constitutes the main cost component and sometimes amounts to about a third or more of the total operating cost. In the case of a route to South America, which requires about 16 hours of flight time each way, fuel consumption is particularly high and makes it even more difficult to achieve profitability. This means that to cover the costs, fares must be high.
The industry estimates that a direct ticket to Buenos Aires will be more expensive than the cheap connecting alternatives, and will probably be priced at a similar level or slightly higher than El Al's longest routes to destinations such as Los Angeles or Japan, even though it is a more expensive route to operate. With this in mind, the state is expected to subsidize the route so that prices will not fully reflect the high cost, but will remain in the familiar price range of long-haul flights - between about $900 and $2,000 for a round-trip ticket in economy class.
The alliance that Is strengthening
Argentine President Javier Milei is considered an important ally of Israel, and in particular of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Since taking office, Milei has expressed public and widespread support for Israel, including during the war, and has chosen to stand by it in the international arena.
The warming of relations between the countries is also taking place against the backdrop of the close ties between Milei and the US administration and President Trump. According to Matan Lev-Ari, former Israeli representative on the board of directors of the Inter-American Development Bank, "US support for Milei does not stem only from personal closeness, but also from a broader geopolitical interest, given China's efforts to strengthen its influence in Latin America. When Trump was elected, there was only one large country in Latin America that was working towards a free market and was interested in being close to the US, and therefore Washington has invested efforts in strengthening it."
Now we are witnessing how the map is changing, and more and more countries like Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Ecuador, and others are returning to support a free market and good relations with the Americans.
Lev-Ari adds that US support has provided stability and loyalty even against the backdrop of temporary internal challenges that Milei has faced, such as the loss in local elections in Buenos Aires province. According to him, US involvement is aimed at stabilize Milei’s position, with the understanding that his continued tenure and economic success serve broader US interests in the region.
In the economic context, Lev-Ari points to major potential in Argentina, based on discoveries of large-scale natural resources - including oil, gas, gold, copper and lithium. "Along with a policy that promotes openness to foreign investment and a free market, this is an attempt to transform a country that has been perceived for years as economically unstable into a significant investment destination, with the success of the move largely dependent on Milei’s ability to maintain political stability and continue to promote reforms."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 20, 2026.
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