Argentina halts all flights until 1 September
Argentina has banned all internal and international commercial flights until 1 September because of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The authorities said airlines shouldn't be permitted to sell tickets for flights that might not go ahead within the next four months.
Aviation industry groups said thousands of individuals could lose their jobs.
Argentina closed its borders to non-residents in March, imposing tough quarantine measures.
The country currently has practically 4,000 confirmed infections, with 192 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
What did the Argentine government say?
The country's National Civil Aviation Administration issued a decree on Monday, banning ticket sales for commercial flights to, from or within Argentina.
It described 1 September as a "reasonable" date.
The agency added that the decree was targeted at avoiding airlines from ticketing flights not approved by the Argentine authorities.
What has the reaction been?
The international aviation agency, Iata, sent a letter to the Argentine government, saying your choice breached bilateral agreements and jeopardized a lot more than 300,000 jobs in the united states.
Meanwhile, Alta, an organization which lobbies interests of Latin American and Caribbean airlines, said the decree had not been "agreed with the industry".
Many countries in SOUTH USA have halted commercial flights, but none has extended the ban for given that Argentina.
