Plus, flying to IPC is a complex operation. Since it has no viable alternate, flights to/from IPC are very constrained by Chile's DGAC in terms of rate control. Basically speaking, no flight is allowed to takeoff to/from IPC in any of these cases:
1.- there's another flight inbound IPC, already past its point of no return but not yet landed
2.- there's another flight inbound IPC, not yet past its point of no return and not yet turned back
3.- there's another flight outbound IPC, not yet past its point of no return and not yet turned back
I was aware of the flight restrictions. In fact, my flight was delayed due to a medical evacuation flight that we were waiting to land before we could take off.
On a side note, I missed my connection to BsAs and LAN stuck me in a hotel under construction with no running water... (but comped me $300 for it, which I think was a very nice gesture for a company with a horrible CS reputation).
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With regards to the flights though, the regulatory aspect probably does play a hand in it. I'd be shocked if its the islanders pushing for it though. I could be wrong, but wouldn't they welcome the tourists? Their economy kind of relies on that one source of income. Even with those restrictions, LAN could do a morning and nightly flight (twice daily) instead of once.