Heavy rain forced the closure of the Vanguardia Airport in Colombia after the terminal and runway were flooded by the nearby Guatiquía river. Among the impacted airlines by the closure of this airport are Viva, Avianca, EasyFly, Colombia’s state carrier, SATENA, and Aliansa, an airline that only operates DC-3 aircraft. Let’s investigate further.

The flood

On Friday, Colombia’s civil aviation authorities released a statement acknowledging the closure of the Vanguardia Airport (VVC) in Villavicencio. It is a small regional airport better known for being one of the last active hubs for the Douglas DC-3 aircraft.

In a statement, Aeronáutica Civil (Colombia’s authority) said,

“The Aeronáutica Civil informs that due to the heavy rain in the last hours and the overflow of the Guatiquía Ríver in Villavicencio, Meta province, the passenger terminal and runway of the Vanguardia Airport are flooded.

Due to this reason, the flights to and from the airport are suspended. It is projected that around 29 scheduled flights will not be able to be operated today.

Aeronáutica Civil is coordinating with the airlines and local authority to restore the connectivity from this airport.”

Additionally, Aeronáutica Civil released several pictures of the flooding on social media.

The impact

The Colombian civil aviation authorities expect around 29 scheduled flights to be impacted by the flood.

Five commercial airlines operate flights to and from Villavicencio. These carriers are Avianca, EasyFly, SARPA, SATENA, and Viva Air Colombia. This airport is located around 120 kilometers by car away from Colombia’s capital Bogotá.

Using data from Cirium, these are the departures Villavicencio would have on a normal Friday:

EasyFly, flights to Bucaramanga, Cali, Medellín, Puerto Gaitán, and Pereira.

Viva Air, flights to Cartagena and Medellín.

Additionally, Aliansa, a cargo carrier with a fleet of DC-3 and Caravan C-208B aircraft, uses Villavicencio as its base. This airline has had two DC-3 crashes in the last two years.

If the flooding and overall impact continue during the weekend, SATENA and Avianca will also see an impact in their commercial operations. Avianca operates six weekly flights between La Vanguardia and Bogotá, in a flight that lasts around 30 minutes. SATENA flies to Mitu, Puerto Carreño, and Puerto Inirida.

Following the closure of the airport, Viva Colombia released the following tweet,

“Due to the flooding in the Villavicencio airport, that has led to the closure of the terminal, we will have an impact on our operation. We recommend that you keep a close eye on our official communication channels.”

Villavicencio flood
An image of the floodings at Villavicencio Airport, Colombia. Photo: Aeronáutica Civil.

Colombia’s DC-3 capital

La Vanguardia Airport could be unofficially named Colombia’s DC-3 capital. In this hub, you can regularly see DC-3s operating scheduled flights.

Aliansa Aerolíneas Andinas a cargo airline operates from Villavicencio. Up to a few months ago, the airline had three DC-3s and one DC-3TP. Nonetheless, in April, a DC-3 aircraft built in 1943 veered off the runway while landing in San Felipe, a remote region near the border with Venezuela and Brazil.

Aliansa was founded in 1989.

What do you think about this incident? Have you ever been to this airport? Let us know in the comments below.