Latin American airline LATAM has blamed the UK for its decision to suspend its new direct flight to Peru.

The London-Lima service will be grounded at the end of January, just two months after it was launched on 1 December 2023.

It was the only non-stop flight between the UK and the capital of Peru, but LATAM said the ‘British aeronautical authority’ has ‘applied an operational restriction’, which means the route will have to be suspended during February and March.

LATAM has not said if or when it will restart direct flights between London Heathrow and Lima and it is not currently selling non-stop services beyond 1 February.

Instead, it is advising passengers can travel to Lima on its flights that operate via Madrid in Spain or via Sao Paulo in Brazil.

Travel Gossip has asked the Civil Aviation Authority for a comment.