Ministro Pistarini International Airport
Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE IATA) (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini), commonly known as Ezeiza International Airport, is the main airport of Buenos Aires.
Understand
Planes fly from and to most countries in the Americas and Europe. Ezeiza is a modern airport with good services. For being the main airport in a metropolitan area of 14 million people, it is surprisingly compact.
Non-Argentinians must pay a reciprocity fee on arrival at the Ezeiza Airport. The amount depends on how much the country of origin charged for Argentinians to enter that country.
Flights
Domestic
Aerolíneas Argentinas domestic flights
Some flights from Aerolíneas Argentinas (Argentinian Airlines) to Ushuaia leave from Ezeiza during peak season, so check to see on which airport you fly into or leave from. There is a daily flight from Ezeiza to Mendoza and Córdoba, which connects with most Aerolíneas Argentinas international arrivals and departures.
International
From South America
There are flights from Ezeiza to most South American cities including Caracas, Bogotá, Lima, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Cochabamba, Santiago de Chile, a dozen of Brazilian destinations, Montevideo, and Asunción. Many of the regional and shorter distance flights use Buenos Aires City Airport-Aeroparque (AEP).
From Europe
Direct flights to Europe are available with Turkish Airlines (to Istanbul Airport), British Airways (to London Heathrow), Lufthansa (to Frankfurt), Iberia (to Madrid), Air France (to Paris Roissy), Alitalia (to Rome Fiumicino), KLM (to Amsterdam, three times each week), and Aerolíneas Argentinas (to Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome Fiumicino).
From North America
Non-stop service to the U.S. is available to Atlanta (Delta Air Lines), Dallas (American Airlines), Miami (American Airlines, Lasca Airlines, and Aerolíneas Argentinas), Houston (United Airlines), New York (American Airlines), and Newark. (United Airlines).
For Canada, Air Canada flies direct from Toronto.
There are also flights to Mexico City Benito Juarez Airport on Aeromexico and Havana and Panamá City Tocumen Airport on Ezeiza.
From Asia
If coming from the Middle East, Qatar Airways flies daily to/from Doha via São Paulo while Emirates has a flight to/from Dubai via Rio de Janeiro.
As Malaysian Airlines has terminated their route via Cape Town, Sao Pãulo is the closest destination East Asian carriers will take you. Of course it is also possible to fly via Oceania or North America.
From Africa
Travellers from Africa also need to connect via another South American city such as São Paulo, since South African have discontinued their flights to Ezeiza.
From Oceania
The only direct flights from Oceania are by Air New Zealand from Auckland three times a week.
Ground transportation
Into town
From the airport, there are taxis, private cars called remises, buses and minibuses.
There is also a railway station near Ezeiza Airport named Ezeiza Station, but getting to the airport takes around a third of the trip between Ezeiza Airport and Buenos Aires. It is not advisable to go there if your final destination is Buenos Aires.
A transfer to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery can be done by remis; for example, Taxi Ezeiza costs AR$270, for less than an hour (unless there are huge traffic jams), and can be booked in advance.
By coach
Trips on coaches from Ezeiza Airport to Retiro cost around AR$250. The coaches leave every half hour—less frequently during evenings. From their terminal in Retiro (corner of San Martin and Av. Madero), a smaller van can deliver you to any downtown address for an additional fee. They group passengers together in a 5-person taxi to drop off one at a time. This may add an additional 15-30 minutes depending on where you are heading. Manuel Tienda León also offers transfers between Ezeiza Airport and Jorge Newbery Airport. Tickets can be purchased from their booth just outside of customs. If you miss it in customs (European, Australian, and U.S. travellers are probably more used to such services being located not inside customs), then walk outside. Keep walking for about 200 meters heading towards Terminal B, turn left, go to Terminal B departures, and there's an outside booth there.
By private car
Private driving services to and from the airport are more expensive but more personalized. Some offer English-speaking drivers like Traslada private service car, Buenos Aires Airport Transfer and SilverStar Transport.
By taxi
Taking a prepaid taxi or remis from Ezeiza Airport to downtown costs at least AR$500 as of 2012 plus additional costs (mainly tolls). Prepaid taxis are the safest and simplest method of transport from the airport. As you exit customs there are booths on either side of the receiving area of the airport. Some of the prepaid remises will provide you with a 20% discount coupon for your airport return. If you manage to hold on to this coupon, dial them directly to come and collect you and save yourself 20%. You must also present the original receipt to receive the discount.
There are other established companies such as Manuel Tienda Leon and Go Airport Taxi Buenos Aires which allow for a reservation online in order to guarantee your car and driver prior to your arrival which may be essential in the morning hours when the bulk of the long-haul flights arrive to the airport.
Hailing a curbside taxi is not recommended for travellers that have only recently become acquainted with Buenos Aires. However if you do get one, you should select a taxi that is dropping someone off. It will cost approximately 30% less than a remis. The cab driver will tell you a fixed price beforehand. If not, you should negotiate the price before leaving the pickup area. You should be familiar with Buenos Aires and speak Spanish fairly well as your cab driver will likely not speak English.
By public bus
The cheapest way by far to get to downtown is to get on the number 8 bus. In June 2015 it cost less than US$1 to ride the bus for its full route, from the airport to downtown. However, to ride the bus you'll need to purchase a SUBE travel card and put some money on it. And for this, you'll need some local currency. So it's a 3-step process. The following directions pertain if you are in Terminal B.
- Get some local currency. There's a branch of the National Bank at the airport. It's tiny and somewhat inconspicuous, tucked in behind the exit area where you clear customs. For purposes of getting a travel card get US$20 worth of pesos.
- Find a place to purchase a SUBE travel card. In June 2015 the only place available was in a newspaper/tobacco/incidentals store near the stair at the far end of the terminal from the bank. You'll find the store on the left side of the terminal as you walk toward the ticket counters at the far end of the terminal. The card cost AR$150.
- Put some money on the SUBE card. There's a SUBE charging machine (an ATM-like machine) at the entrance of the store selling the SUBE. Lay the card on a flat plate and feed the machine some pesos. Put AR$50 on the card.
The SUBE card is also good for the subway or underground, which is called SUBtE. Trains and some tolls can also be payed with SUBE, as well some vending machines.
After getting and charging you SUBE card, walk back to the end of the terminal where you started. Exit the terminal at that end as its closest the number 8 bus. The bus stop for the number 8 bus is a 100 meter walk outside the Terminal B arrivals building. As you walk angle a bit to the left.
When the bus arrives climb aboard, tell the driver where you are going (e.g. "a Plaza de Mayo, por favor"/"to Plaza de Mayo, please), and hold the SUBE card up against the reader next to the driver for perhaps 5 seconds, it's a slow reader. You'll see a light go green, and the screen showing the amount that was deducted from your card, and its remaining credit.
The bus takes almost two hours to arrive at the Plaza de Mayo, a central downtown location where many bus, rail, and taxi options are available. Many stops will be made on the way there. The bus will get crowded, empty out and get crowded again. The ride will show a part of the city quite different from the big city downtown where most tourists head. You might see wagons pulled by donkeys, police with rifles, some interesting architecture, and lots of open space between built up areas - something you won't see when you get downtown. It's in some respects reminiscent of Long Island, New York in the early 1950s. (This is in contrast to downtown which is crowded and a thoroughly modern city.)
The number 8 bus continues from Plaza de Mayo on Rivadavia Avenue and then on Hipolito Yrigoyen street. Be mindful of your surroundings and avoid the common scam mentioned in Stay safe. It should be avoided by night.
To the airport
If you are going to Ezeiza International Airport from downtown, make sure to ride the 8 bus that says AEROPUERTO (AIRPORT) since there are many 8 buses that go to other places. The bus will first stop all along Mayo Avenue and then Rivadavia Avenue. It can take more than two hours to get to the airport from downtown (longer than the trip from the airport), and the bus can get extremely crowded. If you are pressed for time or short on patience, it is highly recommended that you skip this bus and take a remise or taxi.
Another option is to take the TiendaLeón bus which leaves from their terminal at Av Eduardo Madero 1299, not far from Plaza San Martin. They can also arrange to pick you up from your hotel in the downtown area for slightly extra and take you to the terminal from where you will board their bus to Ezeiza. From the terminal it costs AR$220.
Get around
Wait
Eat and drink
There are various restaurants.
Buy
There are some duty-free shops.
Connect
There is free but slow Wi-Fi.