Avianca, one of South America's largest airlines, has asked the Colombian Civil Aeronautics Company to allow it to resume operating the direct Bogota-Havana route, which was suspended in March 2020 due to the pandemic.
In this way, Avianca will compete with Colombian Wingo, the only airline that offers direct flights between the Colombian capital and the island. According to the special press ReporterAvianca plans to offer a daily flight with an Airbus aircraft, while Wingo has five weekly frequencies with a Boeing 737-800.
Additionally, Avianca has requested permission to resume flights from Medellin/Rionegro to San José de Costa Rica and Pasto using Airbus A319, A320ceo and A320neo aircraft with a capacity of 156 to 174 passengers.
The company seeks to strengthen its route network in the region by 2024, as it has been approved to increase its operations in Argentina, with a third daily flight to Buenos Aires. Likewise, it hopes to open a route between Guayaquil and San Andres.
Avianca wants to return to Cuba this year
Since June 2023, Cuban authorities have attempted to reopen the Avianca route from Colombia to Cuba. In an interview with El Tiempo newspaper, Ivis Fernandez, tourism counselor at the Cuban embassy in Colombia, expressed his desire to reactivate the operation.
Colombian Airlines suspended its flights to Cuba in January 2020 due to the pandemic and the US embargo. Fernandez said he hopes Cuba receives more Colombian tourists, and for that it is important for Avianca to re-establish its routes from Bogotá. Colombia is the twelfth country to send visitors to Cuba after other European countries such as Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy.
Many Cubans used Avianca to travel to Panama and South America because it had flights to several countries in the region, such as Ecuador, Chile, El Salvador or Peru. However, the company stopped selling tickets and argued that the ban would affect them if they continued to operate on the island. Avianca is a Colombian company, but capitalized and registered in the United States.
