Exactly 63 years ago, on August 20, 1963, Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas (LAP) operated its inaugural flight from the old Asunción International Airport to Curitiba, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. The creation of the national flag carrier was an initiative of the Aeronautics Command, driven by then Lieutenant Colonel Adrián Jara, and approved by the President of the Republic.
According to aviation historian Antonio Luis "Tony" Sapienza, who gave an interview to the publication, LAP was not the first attempt at commercial aviation in Paraguay. The first was Líneas Aéreas de Transporte Nacional (LATN) in 1945, followed by Transporte Aéreo Militar (TAM) in 1954, Servicios Aéreos del Paraguay (PAS) in 1957 – the first to operate international flights, albeit for a few months – and Lloyd Aéreo Paraguayo SA (LAPSA), from 1961 to 1965.
To begin operations, LAP acquired three second-hand Convair CV-240 aircraft from Aerolíneas Argentinas, with a capacity for 40 passengers. After a year of preparation and crew training, the company started its routes connecting Paraguay to cities in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. With the incorporation of larger planes, such as the Electra, the network expanded to other South American countries, including Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.
The leap to intercontinental status came with the acquisition of Boeing 707s and, later, DC-8s and DC-10s. These aircraft allowed LAP to inaugurate routes to Madrid, Frankfurt, Miami, and Brussels, as well as brief flights to Mexico City and Panama City.
Sapienza points out that the company's financial peak occurred between 1969 and 1978, when it operated as a regional carrier with good profitability. However, the intercontinental expansion, which began in 1978, tripled operating costs and started an accumulation of debt that marked the beginning of its decline.
The operational history of LAP recorded two notable accidents, both without fatalities. The first was in May 1967, when a Convair 240 suffered a failure of its thrust reversers during approach for landing at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires, resulting in a forced landing with the landing gear retracted. The second occurred in 1990, also at Ezeiza, when a DC-8-61 failed to brake adequately on a wet runway and overshot its end.
Audiovisualist, content creator and journalist Fabián Martínez also provided information about LAP, highlighting that for many, more than just a carrier, the company became a symbol of Paraguayan national identity in the world, carrying the country's flag across several continents before the start of its decline in the late 1970s.