The Paraguayan government has ruled out subsidizing a direct flight between Paraguay and the United States after concluding the proposal was not economically advantageous, Presidential Chief of Staff Javier Giménez said Thursday.
In an interview, Giménez confirmed the executive evaluated providing financial aid to airline Gol Linhas Aéreas to operate the international connection, a common practice in several countries to boost tourism and expand connectivity. However, the estimated subsidy amount — about US$360,000 per month — was considered unfeasible given the current economic situation.
“We analyzed the subsidy to Gol for a direct flight to the United States and it was not convenient,” the minister said. “The war economy forced us to discard this option.”
Giménez defended the government's initiatives to strengthen the country's international air connectivity but reiterated that, in this specific case, the subsidy was not justified. “Subsidizing airlines to generate tourism is a common practice, but in this case it was not appropriate,” he concluded.