Last spring, Colombia was forced to suspend general international flights amid the conditions of the pandemic. There were glimmers of hope heading towards the end of 2020, but the health crisis continued to take its toll on the aviation industry of the South American country. Nonetheless, the nation has had a strong first half of 2021, recovering 67% of the routes that were in operation last February.
Opening up opportunities
Even though national carriers such as Avianca were glad when restrictions were eased in September for international travel, other carriers across the Americas were also keen to get in on the action. For instance, in February, it was announced that Mexican low-cost carriers Volaris and Viva Aerobus received approval from the Colombian government to begin new routes from Mexico City and Cancún to Bogotá and Medellín. Moreover, there is progress from even further north.
ProColombia has highlighted the progress of Colombia’s aviation industry following the significant downturn last year. With history tracing back to thirty years ago, the organization has been focused on growing several industries of its country, including the positioning of the nation as a tourist destination.
The group shared that Colombia has inaugurated seven new international routes since the turn of the year. There are also another 13 approved for 2021. Thus, the likes of Medellín, Bogotá, Cali, and Cartagena are seeing plenty of activity from across the globe.
Notably, flights to the US have been busy, with hubs seeing more action from Colombia. The likes of JetBlue, American Airlines, and Spirit Airlines ramping up services.
Having the right connections
ProColombia president Flavia Santoro took a moment to speak about the rebound of air activity. She emphasizes that Colombia is truly reconnected with the wider population.
“Recovering the country’s air connectivity has been one of the priorities within the economic reactivation and, thanks to joint work with airlines, airports, and air operators in our country, we have managed to reconnect Colombia with the world,” Santoro shared in a statement.
“Today we can say that 20 airlines operate connecting eight Colombian destinations with 20 countries, registering a total of 498 weekly air frequencies with an availability of 89 thousand seats.”
Altogether, operations to Latin America have been scaling up significantly from the United States. US carriers were usually heavily focused on transatlantic and transpacific routes for their international business. However, restrictions to Europe and the Asia-Pacific continued heavily until now. As a result, airlines have been putting more eggs in Central and South America due to fewer stringent requirements to enter several countries in these regions. For instance, United Airlines announced that it is flying over 100% of its pre-pandemic schedule to Latin America.
Room for expansion
When it comes to Colombia, there is still notable untapped potential. Medellín sees over half a million tourists alone a year, thanks to the likes of Viva Air Colombia linking it well with other airports. Félix Antelo, the president of this low-cost outfit recently told Simple Flying that his company is looking to turn Medellín into a connecting hub to take tourism and business prospects to another level. The airline is keen to use its new Airbus A320neos to connect passengers between North and South America.
With plenty of sunny hotspots, vast landscapes, vibrant cultures, and growing commercial hubs across Latin America, it’s a great area to visit. Nonetheless, the pandemic continues to rock societies and economies around the world, including Latin America. So, it’s always crucial to check the entry requirements ahead of any bookings.
What are your thoughts about the increased connectivity between Colombia and the United States? Are you looking to fly between the two countries this year? Let us know what you think of the services in the comment section.
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