LATAM and Avianca are ready to go.

The governments of Colombia and Venezuela, led by Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro, have announced the reopening of their borders, allowing air transport to resume after a three-year hiatus due to a diplomatic fallout. Avianca, Latham, Ultra, Wingo and Avior, which had many routes between the two countries before the outbreak, are ready to resume commercial passenger services as soon as they get the green light.

Open the borders again

It took almost three years for the border between Colombia and Venezuela to be fully reopened. On Friday, the Venezuelan government announced that it had obtained permission for flights between the two countries and that the air corridor between Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG) and Caracas’ Simón Bolívar International (CCS) would open later this month.

According to Armando Benedetti, Colombia’s ambassador to Venezuela, five airlines want to resume service between Bogotá and Caracas from September 26. He added that the Venezuelan airline Laser Airlines is still in the process of being licensed to operate this route. Wingo, a subsidiary of Copa Holdings, is licensed to operate the service between Bogotá and Valencia.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries soured when former Colombian President Ivan Duque accepted Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s president instead of Nicolas Maduro. Following the incident, Maduro expelled all Colombian diplomats and closed the border between the two countries.

Flights between Colombia and Venezuela will resume in September. Photo: Getty Images

International relations with Venezuela

In the past few years, Venezuela has lost international air links. For example, the country had about 348 international flights and 51,328 seats in September 2015 compared to 106 weekly flights and 17,288 seats in September 2022 using Cirium data.

Venezuela currently has international services from 12 airlines; Copa Airlines operates the highest number of services from Tocumen International Airport (PTY) with 33 flights per week. Other operators are Conviasa, Laser, Aviar, Turpial, Turkish Airlines, Air Europa and TAP Portugal. Seven years ago, the country had connections with other airlines such as American Airlines, Air France, Aerolines Argentinas, Delta, Gol, Iberia, LATAM and Avianca. Some of these operators are interested in extending their services to the South American country.

The Venezuelan government currently allows international flights from 15 countries worldwide. This list includes Turkey, Russia, Mexico, Bolivia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Iran, Brazil, Algeria, Qatar and Colombia.

Several airlines have expressed interest in continuing commercial flights to Venezuela. Photo: Getty Images

Avianca, Wingo and LATAM are ready to go.

In recent months, both Avianca and LATAM have expressed their desire to restart commercial services between Colombia and Venezuela. According to the local media AviationOnline, the Avianca group “It is ready to reunite these two sister countries.” The airline is currently waiting for Venezuelan authorities to authorize its technical team to visit the country and start selling the flights. Avianca is expected to resume its route to Venezuela in the next two to three months.

What do you think about Venezuela and Colombia resuming international air travel? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: The country, Aviationline.