Buenos Aires Airports: EZE vs AEP and How to Choose

Updated: August 12, 2026

Buenos Aires has two passenger airports 47 km apart, and picking the wrong one is an expensive mistake. Ezeiza (EZE) handles almost all long-haul international flights; Aeroparque (AEP) sits inside the city and handles domestic plus regional routes. As of 2026 that split is the thing to plan around.

Which airport should you fly into?

Usually you do not get a choice — your route decides. Coming from Europe, North America or anywhere long-haul, you land at Ezeiza because that is where those aircraft go. Flying in from Montevideo, Santiago, São Paulo or within Argentina, you will most likely use Aeroparque.

Where the choice does appear is on regional routes, and there Aeroparque wins on location almost every time. It is minutes from the city rather than an hour, which is worth more than most fare differences once you count the transfer.

What is the difference between EZE and AEP?

The codes matter more than they look. A booking that just says "Buenos Aires" is not enough to plan on, and a domestic connection sold as a cheap add-on may quietly leave from the other airport.

What is the airport code for Buenos Aires?

There is no single one, which is the root of most of the confusion. EZE is Ezeiza, the international gateway. AEP is Aeroparque, the city airport. You may also meet BUE, which is not an airport at all but a metropolitan code covering both — booking engines use it to search the city as a whole.

So if a fare comparison shows BUE, check which physical airport the resulting ticket actually uses before you book anything else around it.

How do you get between the two airports?

By road, 40 to 70 minutes depending on traffic, with no rail link. A taxi or private transfer runs about USD 40–60, the Tienda León coach around USD 15–20, and the line 8 bus is the cheap, slow option.

Two things catch people out. No airline moves your checked bags between the airports, even on a single booking, so you collect and re-check them yourself. And that makes four hours the realistic minimum between an international arrival and a domestic departure. Our EZE to AEP transfer guide sets out the timings, and a pre-booked airport transfer is the low-stress way to do it.

Is a connection between them safe to book?

Only with a wide margin. If both flights are on one ticket the airline carries some responsibility when things slip; on separate tickets the risk is entirely yours, and a missed domestic departure means buying a new fare.

When the gap is tight, an overnight is often cheaper than the gamble. Our hotels near Ezeiza guide covers the options closest to the international airport.

Which airport is better for services?

Ezeiza is the larger operation, as you would expect from an airport built around long-haul departures — more shops, more lounges, longer opening hours in practice. Aeroparque is compact and quick to move through, which is its own kind of advantage on a short domestic hop.

The differences worth knowing before you travel:

• Duty-free: at Aeroparque only international passengers may buy, so domestic travellers are turned away — see Aeroparque free shop. At Ezeiza nearly everyone qualifies, covered in duty free at Ezeiza.
• Lounges: Aeroparque has three, two of them reachable before security — see Aeroparque lounges.
• Parking: both sell short-stay by the hour and long-stay in day blocks, with separate tariffs — see Aeroparque parking and Ezeiza parking.

Which is better for reaching the city?

Aeroparque, comfortably. It sits on the riverfront a short drive from the centre, so the transfer is a minor part of the journey rather than a planning exercise.

From Ezeiza you are looking at 45 to 60 minutes by road, longer in rush hour, with the usual choice between a counter taxi at roughly USD 30–40, a booked transfer, or the Tienda León shuttle at about USD 11–12. Our airport to city guide compares them, and Ezeiza taxis explains the counter system.

How early should you arrive at each?

Three hours for an international departure from Ezeiza, and about two for a domestic one. Ezeiza now funnels every outbound passenger through a single Departures Terminal, so the security queues build quickly at peak times, and international flights add passport control on the way out. Bag drop typically closes an hour before an international departure.

Aeroparque is more forgiving because it is smaller and most flights are domestic, but the traffic getting there is the variable — it sits on a busy stretch of riverfront road. Judge your departure time by the traffic rather than the terminal. Our departures guide covers check-in and security at Ezeiza in detail.

How should you plan a trip that uses both?

Work backwards from the domestic leg. Confirm the airport code on every segment, then give yourself four hours if you are crossing between them on the same day, and treat anything under three as a flight you may lose.

Book the transfer before you fly rather than deciding at the kerb, keep your bags manageable since you will be handling them twice, and carry some pesos for the incidentals along the way — our how to pay in Argentina guide explains the currency picture. If the connection is unavoidable and tight, moving the domestic flight a few hours later costs far less than missing it.