The airport at Hanga Roa (IPC) on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is extremely small. I have travelled to many places, but this was one of the smallest I have seen. Even the Walvis Bay Airport in Namibia was bigger. It had more flights. When I flew Santiago (SCL) to IPC, I was able to collect my bags and get out of the airport within 30 minutes or less, after landing.
There is only 1 or at most 2 LATAM flight a day from SCL to IPC, and back. I believe on Mondays there is a SCL to IPC to PPT (Papeete) flight, which returns Tuesday From PPT to IPC to SCL. There are no direct flights from Easter Island to Buenos Aires. So when you say you are on two different tickets, I am sure that one ticket is PPT to SCL, and the other ticket is from SCL to one of the two airports in Buenos Aires (AEP or EZE). LATAM flies to both airports in BA.
If you are on LATAM 836, which has a 2 hour layover in IPC, you probably will just get off the plane and be in a transit area before you board the same plane. If your two tickets are actually PPT to IPC and a separate one from IPC to Buenos Aires (AEP or EZE) with a connection in SCL, then you might have to clear immigration and customs in Hanga Roa (IPC). But even then I am sure you will have enough time.
The sad part about this is that you are only spending 2 hours on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). It is such a “once in a life time” destination that you should at least try to spend 24 hours there. 1 day is definitely enough to go see the main sights on the island.
Last edited by sooge_sj; Nov 17, 2017 at 1:22 am