American Airlines is about to turn one of South America’s shortest international hops into a widebody curiosity. Aeroroutes reports that the carrier plans to route selected departures from Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) via Montevideo’s Carrasco International Airport (MVD) in late 2026. This will create American’s shortest sector with the Boeing 777-300ER at just 142 miles, before the aircraft continues on to the United States.

This move is tied directly to runway construction at EZE. During the most disruptive phase starting in late October, aircraft will face a sharply reduced usable runway length, making fully fueled long-haul departures impossible. In American’s case, that will mean letting the 777-300ER depart Buenos Aires light, stopping in Montevideo for fuel, and then continuing onward to the US. Other long-haul visitors to Argentina’s capital, such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, are instead choosing to temporarily suspend their EZE flights.

A 777-300ER Hop To Uruguay

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American’s revised route filing covers two routes. One of its twice-daily Buenos Aires departures to Miami International Airport (MIA) will operate via Montevideo between October 25 and November 11, while the Buenos Aires departure to New York JFK Airport (JFK) will also route via Montevideo over the same period. Both of these flights normally operate non-stop daily with the 777-300ER, but will instead depart EZE light and take on their full fuel load at MVD.

That makes the EZE-MVD leg a real oddity. The distance is just 142 miles (229 km), which is tiny by 777-300ER standards, and for two and a half weeks, will be the shortest widebody route in the American Airlines network — the next shortest is Miami-Charlotte at 651 miles (1,048 km). American will be the only airline on the route, as Aerolíneas Argentinas connects to Montevideo three times daily from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), the secondary airport for Buenos Aires.

Interestingly, the second EZE-MIA flight, which is operated with a Boeing 787-8, is not currently scheduled for a routing via MVD. However, while American’s smallest widebody has a significantly lower maximum take-off weight (MTOW) at 228 tonnes (versus 352 tonnes for the 777-300ER), it still requires 2,400–2,900 meters (7,900–9,500 ft) for a fully-loaded take-off. With the usable runway length at EZE expected to temporarily drop to just 1,850 meters (6,070 ft), American will need to make alternative plans for its 787-8 flight as well.

Why Ezeiza Is Doing This Work

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The backdrop is a much larger airport project. Aeropuertos Argentina says it is investing more than $100 million at Ezeiza to improve operational efficiency, safety, passenger services, and cargo capacity. This includes a new Platform Golf apron for seven narrowbody aircraft, the rehabilitation of the secondary runway 17/35, concurrent work on its intersection with the main 11/29 runway, taxiway upgrades, and lighting improvements.

The problem for airlines is the timing of the most disruptive phase. Aeropuertos Argentina says that starting in late October, Ezeiza’s main runway will operate with a reduced usable length:

“Between October 25 and November 11, airport operations will be restricted exclusively to runway 11–29, which will be limited to 1,850 meters instead of its current 3,300 meters. This will require airlines to adjust their operational plans for larger aircraft.”

This is why American’s workaround matters beyond novelty value. Ezeiza is Argentina’s main international gateway, serving over a million passengers a month with 75 nonstop destinations in 19 countries, including 35 domestic routes. In other words, this is not a small regional field taking a brief maintenance hit; it is the country’s principal long-haul hub entering a short but sharp operational choke point. And that means that many more carriers will be impacted.

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Other Airlines Will Be Disrupted

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American is far from alone. Its arch rivals, Delta and United, have already chosen to suspend all Buenos Aires service during the runway work. Delta also flies to EZE from JFK, as well as its megahub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), while United serves EZE from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), and passengers on that route are already reporting flight cancellations.

But it’s not just the US carriers that will be impacted, as the European airlines flying to EZE have longer routes. None more so than Lufthansa, which operates daily non-stop service from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) with a Boeing 747-8, which certainly cannot take off from a 1,850-meter runway. Here are the widebody flights to EZE that are likely impacted:

What we know so far is that Air Europa has removed flights to Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) from sale for the affected dates, and plans to reinforce its Madrid–Montevideo route, so passengers can use Uruguay as a workaround. Meanwhile, Emirates has said that its 777-300ER flight from Dubai (DXB) via Rio de Janeiro will terminate at Galeão International Airport (GIG) and not continue to Buenos Aires during the affected period. KLM is reportedly considering operating to EZE via Santiago (SCL), a reversal of its normal AMS-EZE-SCL dogleg route.

What is clear is that carriers will be left with a clear menu of choices: reroute through a nearby airport like Montevideo, trim payload (which is likely economically unviable), or suspend operations outright. American has been creative and chosen the first option, setting up a widebody novelty route, but expect many carriers to forego the headache and choose instead to just cancel flights.