LAP - Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas (also referred to as ''LAP'' and later LAPSA Air Paraguay) was a Paraguayan airline that was founded in November 1962 to be the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...

airline of

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. Its main hub was

Silvio Pettirossi International Airport Silvio Pettirossi International Airport is an international airport in Luque, Paraguay, which serves Paraguay's capital city, Asunción, and indirectly serves the nearby city of Clorinda, Formosa, in Argentina. The airport is named after Paragua ...

, in

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

. The airline ceased operations in 1996 after being sold to

TAM Linhas Aéreas LATAM Airlines Brasil, formerly TAM Linhas Aéreas, is the Brazilian brand of LATAM Airlines Group operating international and domestic flights from hubs in Brasília, Fortaleza, and São Paulo. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of ...

History

Early operations

LAP was a creation of the Paraguayan Military Aviation on November 17, 1962. It was officially founded by the government through the Decree Nr.337 of March 18, 1963. It began services on August 20, 1963, using three Convair CV-240. Services included flights to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

from the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion. The CV-240s were replaced by three Lockheed L-188C Electra turboprops, which were acquired from

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

in 1969, and were operated for over 20 years. On February 26, 1969, the airline began regular operation, with three weekly frequencies for São Paulo. Once a week, the flight continued to Rio de Janeiro, before returning to Asunción. In 1970, service started to

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

, Resistencia and

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

with a Douglas C-47 transferred from the Military Air Transport of the FAP. In 1972,

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

, Bolivia was added to LAP's network. In 1973 a route to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

was inaugurated and in 1978 to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Jet operations

The good service offered by the Lockheed Electras made LAP have a presence in Latin America. By March 1977, the number of weekly frequencies for Brazil had already increased. The pure jet age came in 1978 with the purchase of two Boeing 707-320 from

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

and with those services to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

began. In 1979, services started to Madrid and Frankfurt. When another 707 was bought in 1982, service to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

started. Due to noise restrictions, a former

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

DC-8-63 was bought in 1984 for the route to Miami. During the 1980s, other routes were tried like Mexico City and Panama City, but just for a few months. In 1988, a former Spantax DC-8-61 was bought. In 1990, it was replaced by a leased DC-8-62 for a few months. On February 2, 1989, General Andrés Rodríguez of the Paraguayan Army carried out a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

, putting an end to the dictatorial government of General

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and Military dictatorship, military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 19 ...

. A short time later, the changes that took place in the country would reach LAP. Audits revealed that there were other officials and the quality of LAP's services was deteriorating. The president ordered in 1989 that the airline be maintained using its own income. In 1990, LAP received a former

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

DC-8-71, followed by another similar aircraft in 1991. In 1992, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 came into service. Eventually, LAP received two more DC-10s, one former

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

for a few months and a former

Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...

. Operations to the US and Europe were performed by the DC-10s and regional flights with a 707 and the DC-8. In 1993, and for a few months, a BAe 146-300 was leased and operated on loan from the factory. Since LAP was a government-losing company, attempts to privatize were not fruitful and the money-losing operation was shut down on March 8, 1994.

Restart and end

In October 1994, LAP was privatized and sold to Ecuatorian airline SAETA, forming an Ecuadorian-Paraguayan Consortium, and restarted operations on February 7, 1995, under the new name, ''LAPSA Air Paraguay'' with two Boeing 737-200, three

Airbus A320-200 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

, and one

Airbus A310-300 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie GIE, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wid ...

, all operated by SAETA. On September 1, 1996, Aerolíneas Paraguayas, a Paraguayan regional subsidiary of

, purchased 80% of the majority shares of LAPSA, which by then both airlines were merged under the name ''TAM – Transportes Aéreos del Mercosur''. It was then sold to TAM Linhas Aéreas on October 6, which used two

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet that was produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 was based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay tur ...

s to cover its regional destinations. However, routes to Miami and Europe never restarted afterward. In 2008, TAM Mercosur was renamed as TAM Paraguay, which continues to operate today under the ''LATAM'' brand.

Relaunch attempts

On August 3, 2020, the director of the Dirección Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil, Félix Kanazawa, announced that the state had reacquired the company and consequently its routes in the Americas, the United States and Europe. Kanazawa also mentioned that a decision has not yet been made on whether the company will be 100% state-owned, but has announced that a possible reactivation of the defunct Paraguayan flag airline is being considered. In November 2021,

Nella Linhas Aéreas Nella is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Nella Maria Bonora (1904–1990), Italian actress * Nella Giacomelli (1873–1949), Italian anarchist * Nella Larsen (1891–1964), American modernist novelist born Nelly Walker * Nel ...

announced its strategy of expanding operations in several Latin American countries with the re-launch of LAP. The airline was expected to return to service in March 2022 under the name ''LAP by Nella'', with two

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...

s. As of July 2024, this has not happened yet.

Destinations

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

( Ministro Pistarini International Airport) * Jujuy ( Gobernador Horacio Guzmán International Airport) * Resistencia (

Resistencia International Airport Resistencia International Airport (, ) is an airport in Chaco Province, Argentina serving the city of Resistencia. It is also known as ''Aeropuerto de Resistencia General José de San Martín''. The airport is operated by Aeropuertos Argentin ...

) *

( Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport)

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

(

Brussels Airport Brussels Airport is the main international airport of Belgium. It is located in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, northeast of Brussels. Also informally known as Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport, Brussels ...

)

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

(

El Alto International Airport El Alto International Airport () is an international airport serving La Paz, Bolivia. It is located in the city of El Alto, west of La Paz. At an elevation of , it is the highest international airport in the world, the seventh highest commer ...

) *

( Viru Viru International Airport)

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

( Afonso Pena International Airport) *

( Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport) *

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

(

Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport Aeroporto Internacional do Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre is the airport serving Recife, Brazil. Since December 27, 2001 it is named after the Recife-born Anthropologist and Sociologist Gilberto de Mello Freyre (1900–1987). Some of its ...

) *

(

São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport The São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport , commonly known as São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, is the primary international airport serving São Paulo, located in the municipality of Guarulhos, i ...

)

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

(

Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...

)

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Iquique Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the At ...

( Diego Aracena International Airport) *

( Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport)

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

(

El Dorado International Airport El Dorado International Airport is an international airport serving Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and its surrounding areas. The airport is located mostly in the Fontibón district of Bogotá, although it partially extends into the Engat ...

)

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

( José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport)

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

(

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...

)

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

(

Mexico City International Airport Mexico City International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the primary international airport serving Greater Mexico City. It is the List of the busiest airports in Me ...

)

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

(

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipal ...

)

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

( Tocumen International Airport)

(

) Hub

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

(

Jorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport is the main international airport serving Lima, the capital of Peru. It is located in Callao, northwest of the Historic Centre of Lima, the nation's capital city, and from the Miraflores District, Lima, dis ...

)

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( Madrid-Barajas International Airport) *

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( Tenerife South Airport)

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(

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary international airport serving Miami and its Miami metropolitan area, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Florida. It hosts over 1, ...

) *

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(

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is ...

)

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( Carrasco International Airport)

Fleet

LAP used throughout the years the following aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

*On May 26, 1967, a Convair CV-240 (registered ZP-CDP) was approaching runway 10 of the Ministro Pistarini International Airport. The aircraft suddenly nosed down and crashed its left wing and broke off, the aircraft skidded onto the runway and came to rest upside down. All 24 occupants onboard survived. *On May 8, 1969, a Convair CV-240 (registered ZP-CDN) was destroyed in a collision after a Pilatus PC-6 Porter (registered N356F) was doing a demonstration flight with one pilot on board and three passengers, two of them were high-ranking military officials. Everyone on board the PC-6 were killed, while no one was on board the CV-240.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Eastwood, Tony and Roach, John, ''Turbo Prop Airliner Production List'', 1998, The Aviation Hobby Shop, . *"La Historia de Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas" by Antonio Luis Sapienza Fracchia. Author's edition. Asunción. 2004

External links

Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lineas Aereas Paraguayas Defunct airlines of Paraguay Airlines established in 1962 Airlines disestablished in 1996