BQB airline to be headquartered in Punta del Este, start flights to Porto Alegre on Jan. 15

Buquebus airline, or BQB, will launch its operations from Punta del Este airport rather than from Colonia as previously planned, with seven regular weekly flights to Porto Alegre (Brazil) and chartered flights to Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario in Argentina, and Florianopolis in Brazil.

The airline was denied licenses to operate flights from Montevideo and Punta del Este to downtown Buenos Aires (Aeroparque), a route protected for Pluna. Its pilots are currently training in France.

The joy brought by a new airline operator to our area is tempered by widespread dislike for the owner of Buquebus, considered the Darth Vader of transportation in the region. Darth is accused by the general public on both sides of the river of "funding" the prolongued fake environmental conflict that has kept bridges from Argentina into Uruguay closed for several years already, resulting in huge profits for the near monopoly held by his ferry line. 

The guy is also blamed for a significant role in the left party winning the past election, thanks to the free ferry ride provided to many thousands of voters living in Argentina, most of whom vote the left coalition. He is repeating the feat this week, hopefully with a different outcome.