Argentina strengthens controls on national team flights
After the tragedy of Brazilian team Chapecoense in a plane of the Bolivian airline Lamia, the same aircraft that had transported Lionel Messi and the Argentine team, the Argentine football federation strengthens controls and negotiates with the national airline for national team flights.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) "has implemented new control mechanisms. Control over airlines and planes in which the national team travels will be increased," said AFA spokesperson Miguel Hirsch to AFP.
In November, Barcelona star Messi and the rest of the Argentine players had boarded the same plane that crashed last week, carrying the Chapecoense team that was supposed to play the Copa Sudamericana Final against Atletico Nacional de Medellin in Colombia.
It was during the round trip flights to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, for the South American qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, in which Argentina lost 3-0 to Brazil on November 11th.
AFA usually uses the private airline Andes for the national team's travels, but on that day, the plane was not available due to a technical review and they had to resort to an alternative, explained the spokesperson.
The Bolivian company Lamia was chosen among other proposals because the budget was more economical, said AFA.
"Like in other countries around the world, AFA has been in talks with Aerolineas Argentinas for several months for the national team to travel with the national airline," Hirsch added.
However, the spokesperson warned that they are "constantly exposed to risks, now no one can guarantee anything 100 percent."
Convinced that the accident was the result of "human error and not a problem with the plane itself," he insisted that AFA "always does its best to take care of the national team," said the AFA spokesperson.
The next trip of the team captained by Messi will be in March, to La Paz where they will face Bolivia, after hosting Chile at home for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
On the other hand, Boca Juniors, one of the most popular clubs in Argentina, announced that they will no longer use charter companies for their transfers, both in Argentina and abroad, and will fly with commercial airlines.