Free Shop at Aeroparque (AEP): Who Can Buy and What They Sell

Updated: August 12, 2026

Aeroparque (AEP) has two duty-free shops, both open 24 hours — but you can only buy in them if you are flying internationally. Most traffic at this airport is domestic, so for a lot of travellers the answer is simply no. As of 2026 the rules below apply.

Can you buy at the Aeroparque free shop?

Only on an international flight. The duty-free service is reserved for passengers travelling abroad, so if you are on a domestic route — Córdoba, Mendoza, Salta, Bariloche or any other cabotaje flight — the shop is closed to you no matter what is on the shelves.

This trips people up because Aeroparque is mainly a domestic airport sitting inside the city. Travellers see the shop, assume duty-free works like a normal store, and are turned away at the till when their boarding pass shows a domestic route. Check your flight before you plan a purchase.

Which flights count as international here?

Aeroparque runs regional international services alongside its domestic network. The countries served are Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay, with the familiar routes being Montevideo, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo and Lima.

So the split looks like this:

• Duty-free available: regional international departures and arrivals — Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay.
• Duty-free not available: every domestic flight within Argentina.

One quirk worth knowing on the Mercosur routes: for several regional destinations a national ID is enough to travel, no passport required. That does not change the shop rule, though — the flight still has to be an international one.

Where are the shops and when are they open?

There are two, and both run 24 hours a day. One sits in the departures terminal, past the point where you are already committed to your flight. The second is in the arrivals terminal, which is the Argentine feature that surprises visitors: you can shop duty-free after you land, not only before you fly.

Because both operate around the clock, an early or late regional flight is not a problem. The constraint is your ticket, not the opening hours.

What do the two shops sell?

The ranges differ, so it is worth knowing which one you will actually pass through.

The departures shop leans towards Argentine regional products, which makes it the better stop for gifts on the way out. The arrivals shop is closer to a classic duty-free range, aimed at people coming home with a fresh allowance to spend.

How much can you bring in duty-free?

Argentina's rules are national, so the same allowance applies whichever airport you land at. Arriving by air, each adult may bring in USD 500 of goods in their luggage, plus a separate USD 500 to spend at the arrivals free shop — USD 1,000 in total per person.

A few conditions attach to that. Children under 16 get half the adult figure. The allowance is personal and can be used once per calendar month, though members of one family group may pool theirs. Go over the limit and a flat 50% duty applies to the excess only, not to the whole purchase. Our duty free at Ezeiza page covers the allowance in more detail, including how it differs at land borders.

Is the arrivals shop worth using?

It has one clear advantage: buying on arrival means you are not carrying bottles through a connection, and it draws on the separate arrivals allowance rather than the one your suitcase is already using. Spirits tend to be the category where the saving is real.

Temper expectations elsewhere. Perfume and cosmetics are often close to high-street prices, and the shop is better treated as convenient than cheap. Prices are shown in US dollars and payable in dollars or pesos; since Argentina lifted its currency controls the gap between rates is small, so the old advice about insisting on dollars matters much less than it used to. See how to pay in Argentina for the current picture.

How does it compare with the Ezeiza free shop?

Ezeiza is the bigger operation, and the practical difference is who gets to use it. Almost everyone flying from Ezeiza is on an international route, so the shop is open to essentially all departing passengers. At Aeroparque, the same shop is available only to the regional-international minority.

If you are connecting between the two airports, remember that they are about 47 km apart and no airline moves your bags between them, so a duty-free bottle bought at one becomes your problem to carry at the other. Our EZE to AEP transfer guide sets out the timings, and if you would rather have the ride settled in advance, a pre-booked airport transfer handles the luggage door to door.

What do you need at the till?

Have your boarding pass ready. Duty-free sales are tied to a qualifying flight, so the shop needs to see proof that you are on one — which is exactly the mechanism that turns domestic passengers away. Keep your travel document to hand as well, since staff may check it against the booking.

Keep the receipt too. It matters twice: once at customs if you are close to the allowance limit and need to show what you spent, and again at security if you are carrying sealed liquids onto a connecting flight. Both are covered below.

What about liquids on a connecting flight?

Standard rules apply. Duty-free liquids over 100 ml can travel in your hand luggage on an onward flight only if the shop seals them in a tamper-evident bag with the receipt visible inside, and you leave that bag sealed until your final destination. At the transfer point, show it separately at security.

If your onward journey routes through a country with stricter screening, check that country's rules before you buy anything large. It is a genuine risk of losing the bottle rather than a formality, and it is the main reason travellers on multi-leg trips buy on arrival instead.