Buenos Aires' Ezeiza Airport to Run on a Shortened Runway Oct. 25–Nov. 11: Long-Haul Flights Suspended or Rerouted
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina's national tourism promotion agency INPROTUR, through its Visit Argentina channels, has issued a notice that the country's main international gateway, Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) at Ezeiza in Buenos Aires Province, will undergo runway works from October 25 to November 11, 2026. The airport will stay open throughout the 18-day period, but long-haul international flights face sweeping changes, and passengers traveling in that window are advised to confirm their bookings directly with their airlines.
The works cover the rehabilitation of runway 17-35 and its intersection with the main runway, 11-29. According to Argentina's airport regulator ORSNA, the project includes resurfacing and operational changes designed to keep the airport functioning during construction. While the works last, operations shift to runway 11-29 with its usable length cut from about 3,300 meters to 1,850 meters. Fully fueled widebody aircraft on intercontinental routes need longer takeoff runs, and the shortened runway is the direct technical reason many carriers cannot depart Ezeiza as scheduled.
Airlines have responded in different ways. An October 6 operational review by Argentine aviation outlet Aviación News reported that carriers including American Airlines, Delta, United, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, SWISS, Emirates, Turkish Airlines and Aeroméxico plan to suspend their Ezeiza operations during the restriction window. Iberia intends to keep two daily Madrid–Buenos Aires flights with Airbus A330-200 aircraft, adding a technical stop in Montevideo on the return leg, while Air Europa plans to keep flying with Boeing 787-8s and a refueling stop in Montevideo on departures. LATAM notified travel partners as early as July 9 that its Miami–Ezeiza flights would be canceled from October 24 to November 11, with affected passengers rebooked via Lima, Santiago or São Paulo.
Ezeiza is Argentina's core hub for Europe, North America and other long-haul markets, and Chinese travelers between China and Argentina typically transit through it via Europe or North America. The works fall just ahead of the Southern Hemisphere's late-spring travel season, and 18 days of reduced long-haul capacity is expected to tighten availability on alternative routings. The official notice adds that narrowbody aircraft on domestic, South American and Central American routes are unaffected and will keep their usual direct schedules. The Ezeiza phase is the most disruptive part of an Argentine airport upgrade program under way since August, and carriers say normal schedules will resume once the restricted period ends.
Sources: Compiled from the official Visit Argentina notice by Argentina's national tourism promotion agency, statements by airport regulator ORSNA, and October 2026 reporting by FTN News and Aviación News.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 布宜诺斯艾利斯埃塞萨皮斯塔里尼部长国际机场航拍（两条跑道清晰可见），Thomas Woodtli 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0（Wikimedia Commons）
