Technology

LATAM Awaits Regulatory Affirmation Over Colombia Airport Slot Allocation

7 months ago 3 min read

LATAM Airways is ready for Colombian regulators to find out the capability distribution and slots at airports all through the nation. The transfer follows each ultra-low-cost carriers Viva Air Colombia and Extremely Air, ceasing operations earlier this 12 months.

Viva reportedly ceased its operations quickly as Avianca, Colombia’s largest airline, was authorized by the nation’s civil aviation regulator to amass it. Nevertheless, LATAM has tried to delay the acquisition, arguing that the Avianca and Viva airline’s slots are unclear.

Authorized to merge, however with circumstances

Colombia’s civil aviation authority, Aerocivil, authorized the Avianca-Viva acquisition in March, however it has been over a month since Viva Air operated a flight. The deal, nonetheless, comes with stipulations through which the airways comply with refund passengers for Viva’s canceled flights and to proceed with Viva’s ULCC enterprise mannequin. Greater than 90,000 passengers had been stranded or affected by Viva ending operations, prompting LATAM and Avianca to assist relocate these vacationers.

Photograph: Cusco F. Ferrucci/Shutterstock

Aerocivil additionally enforced that Avianca and Viva would want to return summer time and winter slots in demand at Bogota El Dorado Worldwide Airport (BOG). In line with Air Perception Group, Viva’s primary airports that it operated at had been Medellín Worldwide Airport (MDE) and BOG, with practically 55% of all flights departing from the 2 airports.

Extremely Air ended its operation in late March. The ULCC, which was smaller than Viva Air, solely had a fleet of six Airbus A320 household plane and operated completely to home locations.

Delaying the acquisition

With two airways not working, LATAM might probably achieve extra slots. LATAM expressed curiosity in buying Viva close to the top of February, however a proper supply was not made. Adversely, LATAM filed an enchantment to dam the Avianca-Viva acquisition final month, demanding clarification on what is going to occur to the slots at BOG. The airline additionally argued that Viva had not returned the slots on the airport, which was one of many stipulations that Aerocivil had acknowledged because of the acquisition approval.

Photograph: Vytautas Kielaitis/Shutterstock

LATAM’s enchantment successfully delays the merger as a result of Aerocivil might want to consider the airline’s case and supply a response.

The influence on Colombian airports

The tip of Extremely and Viva being quickly inactive, Colombia is shedding about 15% of exits and seats in comparison with December 2022, in line with Air Perception Group.

Origin	Ops/Week Apr. 2023	Seats Apr. 23	Ops/Week Dec. 2022	Seats Dec. 2022	Proportion Distinction	Proportion Distinction
Bogota El Dorado Worldwide Airport (BOG)	2,655	438,697	2,845	459,909	(6.7%)	(4.6%)
Medellin Jose Maria Cordova Worldwide Airport (MDE)	736	127,193	1,055	182,407	(30.2%)	(30.3%)
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Worldwide Airport (CLO)	514	79,589	561	85,882	(8.4%)	(7.3%)
Rafael Núñez Worldwide Airport (CTG)	408	70,684	464	81,684	(12.1%)	(13.5%)
Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH)	329	15,735	381	17,909	(13.6%)	(12.1%)

In line with Aviation Weekly, the prolonged grounding of Viva Air will make Avianca’s efforts to merge with the airline tougher. Easy Flying beforehand reported that a lot of Viva’s Airbus plane have been positioned into storage within the US. Moreover, different airways want to add extra plane to help their operation. LATAM is planning so as to add 5 planes to its fleet, whereas South American low-cost provider JetSMART hopes to function a brand new home community in Colombia.

Sources: Aviation Week (1), (2), Air Perception Group