happychic

I have T-Mobile, and my plan came with global 2G roaming. My plan worked pretty okay in most big cities in Argentina (Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, Rosario etc). It isn't lightning fast but it was fast enough for me to check WhatsApp, Google Map and some light web browsing. Bonus: I did not have to switch out my SIM card. If you don't want to switch your plan to T-Mobile, I _suspect_ Google Fi may work for you. I don't have it myself but know of people who use it when they travel to Europe. They pause the plan when they don't need to use it once they are back in the U.S.

747FC

Flying Machine

Marambio

Just so you know, there are now passport e-gates at EZE immigration. They are only for Argentine passport holders, at immigration follow the signs for "Migraciones express". Hopefully they expand the service to foreigners. I did the e-gates a few days ago and was through in less than 2 minutes -- Argentina, an emerging market!

CDG1

Hello FT'ers,
I will be landing at EZE 29 Nov. morning. My flight is Edelweiss from Zurich. Last time I was there was in 2011.

I have a question. Is it possible to see the runways from somewhere air side?

This is important. There will be a lot of nice looking arrivals for G20 that day. I want to stay air side for as much as I can. I would not take exit. I would go to the connecting flights hall way even though I will stay in the airport.

I want to see some of the VVIP aircraft arrivals.

What would be the best places in the terminal to get good views of arriving aircraft? I would have gone outside around the airport perimeter but I hear the security will be bonkers. I was advised to stay air side and watch the arrivals from there.

Thank you very much in advance for any help you can provide.

Marambio

I'm sorry but I do not think that is possible. Airside you can only see the main platform and have a distant look at the central part of runway 11/29. It is EZE's longest runway so most VIP flights should land there, and therefore you could spot them during landing/taking off, but nothing else.

I don't know if this is true, but I read somewhere that VIP planes will park at the end of former runway 05/23, where there are 6 or 7 wide-body parking positions (that's the Southwestern continuation of taxiway Golf if you see a chart). The place used to be where some abandoned AR 742s were left for years. If that is the case, the area is particularly secluded from the rest of the airport, and across the airport perimeter you have the Ezeiza Prison and the Ezeiza Atomic Center, i.e. no public access whatsoever.

I'm not a spotter myself but I know some use a secondary road next to the Atomic Center in order to snap some pictures of incoming aircraft (usually runway 11 is the active one). That road is not walking distance from the terminal and I assume it will be heavily guarded during the G20.

malagajohn

Almost all of the G20 flights will be arriving at Aeroparque , which will be closed to regular flights

Marambio

Depends. AEP's only runway is 2100m long, not long enough for a wide-body. The largest planes that can land at AEP are 757s and A310s.

Air Force One will necessarily have to land at EZE, same as the Arab leaders 747s, 777s, etc.

malagajohn

Thanks for this Marmabio . That is what I thought originally . 2 or 3 of My macrista friends tell me almost everything will go to AEP.

Cunning plot to get rid of the Wigged wonder?

CDG1

Thanks a lot for your answer Marambio and thanks to the other FTers input.

The city airport can only harbour smaller size aircraft. Buenos Aires is a long ways away from many of these countries. Considering the distance they will want to avoid refueling stops for as much as possible. A lot of incoming larger aircraft have to be expected.

Marambio... you seem to be quite knowledgeable about EZE airport. I am trying to figure out which platform air side you are talking about with partial views of aircraft movements on Runway 29. Any gate numbers? Duty Free area? Is there much view of the runway?

I must stay air side. If I go through passport control, etc. There will be no turning back. I have a 70-300 mm zoom lens among other equipment. Distance should not be a problem. I just want to be sure I won't miss out and I can see a fair bit of the incoming planes.

From the information I have, only runway 29 will be in service starting 29 November to 2 December. Which direction the planes are landing will depend on the wind conditions. The other runways will be reserved for aircraft parking.

There will be a flurry of 747s arriving. Trump's two VC-25s (747-200 format) and a 757. Prime Minister Abe always travels with two Japanese Air Force 747-400s, China's Xi flies in a B747-8i, India's Modi travels with a B747-400, South Korea also has a B747-8i Vladimir Putin has at least two Il-96s 4-engine aircraft, possibly three. Erdogan, Merkel and Macron have Airbus 330s or 340s, depending and there will be more.

Not sure the Arab Sheikhs/Kings are part of G-20 and what type of aircraft they are using. They will have sizable aircraft if they make the trip. A lot of the lesser executives and government delegations will be travelling commercial flights.

There will be heightened security. It makes total sense. Security forces should not be going after plane spotters. Plane spotters bags can be easily checked. Cameras, lenses, filters, chips, a smartphone for checking FR24 or plane finder sites, live ATC tower, ID card, food/drinks... Few go around with radio scanners nowadays. Some might take stepladders. Plane spotters are no danger for security. They can warn authorities if there see any suspicious activity, with they do in many cases.

I got it from a contact that during the time when G20 world leaders will be in Buenos Aires all the highways will remain closed and there will be no means of public transport. Can somebody here confirm?
Thanks.

Marambio

Even though EZE has three different check-in and arrivals "terminals", all of them are under one roof and, if staying airside, you can walk freely from the first gate to the last without any issues and controls.

Here is a chart of EZE courtesy of Aviacionline: https://aviacionline.com/wp-content/...eiza-plano.jpg

Active runway is usually RWY11. It is the longest and has the only CATIII ILS. If weather is clear (most likely by this time of the year), they can switch to RWY29 depending on winds. EZE has an old runway layout and as such all runways cross each other -- this is 1950s airport design, so planes could land irrespective of wind directions. The problem, however, is that two runways cannot be simultaneously active, as planes risk crossing one another. So if 11/29 is active, no need to worry about 17/35, as 99.9% of chances are it will be closed.

The closest gates to RWY11 are those in "terminals" B and C, i.e. gates 14, 15 and upwards, close to the Aerolíneas and LATAM lounges. The runway can be seen from a distance (remember there's the parking platform in between). From there you can also spot the edges of former RWY 05/23, which is where --they say-- VIPs will park.

For obvious reasons I have never changed planes at EZE, but I would double check if you don't need a boarding pass for a connecting flight in order to enter the transit area. Landing passengers are directed through a long corridor directly to immigration and customs, so unless you can use the transfer lane you won't be able to reach the airside area.

As for public transport in BA during the summit, yep, it's going be chaos. There's another thread on this forum where it's being discussed.

CDG1

Thank you again for all this precious info. This is where Flyertalk is always the best place to get updated information for us frequent flyers around the world.

CDG1

I have a question regarding International transfers at EZE.

From another post:

""After leaving your aircraft you will walk through a long aisleway towards immigration. Before taking the escalators one level down, there is a sign pointing to "Conexiones internacionales / International connections.Follow the arrow and there is a small door leading to a security check and then you will be on the departures sterile area.

Will a boarding pass be required at security check? Can somebody confirm?

Thank you.

Gaucho100K

Not sure I completely understand what you are asking, but here goes an attempt to help....

If you exit air-side, you will for sure need a valid boarding pass to re enter the "sterile" area. If you are planning to stay airside, then the issue will be whether you will be able to get to the area you want because EZE isnt exactly connected like a large/modern airport - there is no airport train that will schlep you from one terminal to another.... so getting to different areas may require you to exit and re-enter, making the issue of valid boarding pass come into play.

bkkth

Argentina by train. I want to travel from BsAs by train. No problem getting the reservation but paying is another matter. Enter credit card number etc, but it seems Mercado Pago wants me to call my bank. Called but my bank cant see that Marcado Pago is attempting to charge my card. Any suggestions?