LATAM Colombia is looking to become the latest airline to begin flying commercially to Venezuela. It was also reported recently that Avianca was eyeing to resume its services to the South American country after a long hiatus. Let’s investigate further.
Going to Venezuela
Earlier this week, LATAM Colombia announced it had filed the necessary documents with the Colombian authorities (Aerocivil) to operate flights to Venezuela.
The South American airline would only have to wait until the Venezuelan country opens up the connectivity to Colombia. Venezuela currently allows flights to specific countries, including Panama, Mexico, Cuba, Turkey, Russia, Spain, and Iran. Due to the pandemic, direct air connectivity between neighboring states Colombia and Venezuela has been suspended since 2020.
LATAM Colombia would have a route to Venezuela for the first time in its history if approved. It would fly between Bogota’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG) and Caracas’ Simón Bolivar International (CCS). The airline is looking to operate one daily flight on this route.
Pending demand
LATAM Colombia is not the only airline interested in flying to Venezuela from this South American country.
In May, it was reported Avianca was looking to resume its services to Caracas after five years. Avianca first suspended its flights to and from Venezuela on July 27, 2017, following the increasing challenges of operating commercially in this country. Prior to that, Avianca had served Venezuela continuously for 60 years.
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Wingo, Copa Airline’s low-cost subsidiary in Colombia, is also looking to fly to Venezuela. The local newspaper La República reported that both Avianca and Wingo have a current application filed for expanding operations to Venezuela. For instance, Venezuela is looking to launch a new route from Bogotá to Valencia, Venezuela.
Wingo stated,
“Flights between Colombia and Venezuela are suspended due to the operational restriction issued by the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC) of Venezuela. In practical terms, the skies over Venezuelan territory are closed to Colombian airlines since March 2020.”
The three Colombian airlines will have to wait until INAC authorizes them to launch services.
Venezuela’s connectivity
As of July 2022, Venezuela has international services by eleven carriers. Copa Airlines operates the most significant number of international services with 33, according to data provided by Cirium.
The country is connected to destinations such as Panama City, Santo Domingo (these two are the most important destinations), Mexico City, Madrid, Istanbul, Havana, and more.
Nonetheless, some Venezuelan carriers have recently been unofficially banned from certain South American countries following the Emtrasur’s crisis.
Last month, Venezuela’s INAC added Brazil to the list of countries authorized to have commercial and freighter services. Prior to the pandemic, only two airlines flew between both countries, Avior Airlines (flying between Caracas and Manaus twice a week onboard a Boeing 737-200) and Conviasa (flying from Porlamar and Caracas to Manaus employing an Embraer E190 jetliner). It is uncertain if any airline will take advantage of this permission and launch commercial services between Venezuela and Brazil.
What do you think about the latest route announced by LATAM Colombia? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: La República.