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Chapelco Airport Closures Disrupt Early December Flights

Travelers wait beside minibuses outside Aviador Carlos Campos Airport as Chapelco airport closures force rerouting of Patagonia flights and longer drives
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7 min read

Chapelco airport closures on 25 to 27 November and again on 2 to 4 December 2025 are now disrupting early summer Patagonia flights for travelers heading to San Martín de los Andes and the surrounding Lake District. Aviador Carlos Campos Airport (CPC) in Chapelco, the main air gateway for San Martín de los Andes, Junín de los Andes, and Cerro Chapelco, is suspending operations on six midweek days while crews patch the taxiway and apron and continue a broader terminal expansion. That means anyone booked to fly directly into Chapelco on those dates should expect cancellations, rerouting through other Patagonia airports, and longer bus or car transfers to reach lodges and trailheads.

Provincial authorities in Neuquén shortened an earlier plan for a continuous ten day Chapelco closure and instead opted for two three day blocks, on 25, 26, and 27 November and 2, 3, and 4 December, targeting days that typically see only one flight per airline. For travelers, the net effect is still a set of concrete Chapelco airport closures that wipe out most direct Buenos Aires links on those dates and push more traffic onto San Carlos de Bariloche and Neuquén as backup gateways.

Aviador Carlos Campos Airport, also known as Aeropuerto de Chapelco, serves San Martín de los Andes and Junín de los Andes and sits roughly 20 kilometers from town. Over the past decade it has grown from about 45,000 annual passengers to more than 300,000, according to the province's airport director, which is a huge jump for a small Lake District gateway. Local reporting and airport statements describe the current works as an intensive repaving and patching program on the taxiway and aircraft parking apron, along with structural improvements and more than 1,000 square meters of new terminal space to handle that growth. Authorities say concentrating the closures into two clusters lets contractors move faster while aiming to hit the quietest days in the weekly schedule.

In the current shoulder season, Chapelco is served primarily by Aerolíneas Argentinas and JetSmart on routes from Buenos Aires Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), with around 18 weekly flights even outside winter. When the airport is closed, those rotations are canceled or shifted, which cascades into rebookings for passengers who expected a quick hop straight into the Lake District. Some travelers may be offered rebooking into San Carlos de Bariloche Airport (BRC) or Presidente Perón International Airport (NQN) in Neuquén city, both of which already handle a mix of domestic Argentine traffic and Patagonia tourism flows.

The practical problem is distance. Bariloche lies roughly 160 kilometers from San Martín de los Andes, with a typical drive time of two and a half to three hours along the Route of the Seven Lakes in normal conditions. Neuquén, the provincial capital, is much farther, around 380 to 430 kilometers away by road, and the drive usually takes between five and seven hours depending on route and traffic. Scheduled buses connect both cities with San Martín de los Andes, but journey times can stretch close to four hours from Bariloche and well over six hours from Neuquén. What was meant to be a short transfer from Chapelco Airport can therefore turn into a half day overland trip if your flight is diverted or rebooked to an alternative airport.

For lodge based travelers, particularly those with same day transfers to remote estancias or onward domestic flights, that extra surface time matters. Many Patagonia itineraries are built on tight sequences, for example overnighting in Buenos Aires, flying into Chapelco before lunch, then driving straight to a lakeside lodge or catching a late regional connection. With Chapelco offline on specific midweek days, that plan is far less robust. If you accept a reroute into Bariloche, make sure transfer providers agree in writing to pick you up there and verify whether additional fees apply. If your airline offers Neuquén, consider whether you actually want to spend six or more hours on a bus or in a rental car to reach the same trailheads.

The closure dates also interact with Patagonia's volatile weather. While the current shutdown is purely for infrastructure works, the Lake District is prone to spring storms that can snarl both road and air traffic. Recent Adept Traveler coverage of a deadly Torres del Paine blizzard and other regional incidents has already pushed hikers and trekkers to treat shoulder season conditions with more caution, and the Chapelco airport closures add another layer of fragility for early December itineraries that chain domestic flights and long drives together. If heavy rain, snow on higher passes, or strong winds coincide with a rebooked Bariloche or Neuquén routing, even those backup plans may need extra slack.

On the airline side, the key protections are in your ticket rules and how your itinerary is built. Passengers issued on one ticket from long haul gateways into Argentina through to Chapelco have stronger misconnection protections than those who bought separate tickets for the domestic leg. In either case, when a known airport closure is involved, carriers are more likely to offer free date changes, rerouting to an alternative regional airport, or vouchers, but the exact options will depend on fare class and any promotional conditions. Watching for schedule change emails in the weeks before departure is essential, as some reissues will swap Chapelco for Bariloche or move you onto a different day without explicit consent if you do not respond.

For independent travelers booking Airbnbs or villas around San Martín de los Andes, the knock on effect can be especially sharp. Many rentals require fixed check in windows, have strict cancellation policies, or do not automatically accommodate late night arrivals from alternative airports. If your stay relies on a same day Chapelco landing, now is the time to contact hosts, explain the known closure dates, and ask about flexibility if you are forced to arrive a day late or via another city. Travel insurance that specifically covers missed connections and schedule change related overnights can help, but you will still need receipts for any extra hotel nights in Bariloche or Neuquén.

There are ways to build a safer itinerary around the Chapelco airport closures. One is to separate long haul and regional legs by at least one night in Buenos Aires or another hub, rather than counting on a same day connection into Chapelco in late November or early December. Another is to treat Bariloche as the primary gateway if you are still in the planning phase, then build the scenic drive to San Martín de los Andes into the trip as a feature rather than a backup. For those already ticketed, a proactive date change to travel on the Friday to Monday windows that lie outside the closure blocks can be less stressful than waiting for involuntary rerouting.

This alert follows Adept Traveler's standard Travel News format, with Key points up front, an Impact map, and a hero image spec designed to make the Chapelco airport closures and their knock on effects visually concrete for readers and accessible for screen reader users.

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