LAN back to Sydney tomorrow

SANTIAGO – The first flight from Santiago to Sydney since last weekend’s devastating earthquake in Chile will arrive in Australia tomorrow morning, March 6.

Flight LA 801 is due to arrive at approximately 7.30am.

Friends and relatives of passengers should check the international arrivals link on the Sydney Airport website www.sydneyairport.com.au or www.lan.com on Friday night or Saturday morning for updated arrival information.

Subject to final confirmation, the return flight, LA 800, is scheduled to depart Sydney at 9.55am on Saturday, flying to Santiago, via Auckland.

LAN has not operated flights to Sydney since February 28 because of earthquake damage to the international terminal at Santiago Airport.

The airline has now erected a large marquee at the airport as a temporary check in facility for passengers, and is using buses to ferry passengers to and from aircraft.

With operations now increasing through Santiago Airport, LAN’s main priority is to move the backlog of its passengers awaiting departure from Santiago, or stranded in other airports awaiting flights to Santiago.

The airline is confident of restoring the full schedule of six flights per week on the Sydney – Auckland – Santiago route by the end of next week.

The first flight to Auckland following the earthquake arrived yesterday NZ time at 6.10am, and departed for Santiago late yesterday afternoon.

Passengers ticketed to fly on LAN flights LA 800 (Sydney – Auckland – Santiago) or LA 801 (Santiago – Auckland – Sydney) are asked to call the airline in Australia on 1800 558 129 or in New Zealand on 09 308 3352

The five different tourism regions promoted by Turismo Chile are reporting the following updates following the 8.8 quake that hit parts of the country.

Desert – The north of Chile was not affected by the quake and has not reported any damage.

Easter Island – Easter Island, which lies 2,300 miles off the cost of mainland Chile, a 5.5 hour flight from Santiago, was not affected by the quake. Initial tsunami warnings have been lifted and all operations are normal.

Santiago and Central Region – Santiago’s airport suffered structural damage to the passenger terminal, however no damage was reported to the runways and the airport is expected to reopen later this week.

Electricity and phone lines have been restored in Santiago and the city’s public transportation including its metro is fully operational. Valparaiso and Viña del Mar have also reported damage.

The annual Viña del Mar International Music festival which was underway has been suspended.

Lakes and Volcanoes – The northern part of the Lakes and Volcanoes region, around the city of Concepcion and the Bio Bio River, was most affected by the quake. Authorities are still working on assessing the full damage.

Basic essential services including water, electricity and telecommunications are gradually being restored.

The southern part of the Lakes and Volcanoes region was not affected by the quake. Operations in popular tourist towns including Pucon, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt are normal.

Patagonia – The far south of the country was not affected by the quake and has not reported any damage.