What we know about the resumption of flights between Colombia and Venezuela

(CNN Spanish) — A few weeks after the reestablishment of bilateral relations between Colombia and Venezuela after years of being frozen, on September 26 flights between the two countries will resume as part of the progress in bilateral relations between the two countries, as announced by the governments of Gustavo Petro and Nicolas Maduro.

Both leaders reported that as of September 26, the land borders between Colombia and Venezuela will be reopened and international flights connecting Bogotá and Caracas, and Bogotá and Valencia, will resume.

As of September 26, “we will jointly open the borders between Venezuela and Colombia. In addition, we will resume flights between Caracas – Bogotá and Valencia – Bogotá. The exchange and cooperation between our peoples restart on the right foot,” the president wrote. of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, on his Twitter account last September 9.

Petro in turn reported the same: “On September 26 we will open the border between Colombia and Venezuela. As a first step, the air connection and cargo transport between our countries will be resumed. We confirm the Government’s commitment to reestablish brotherly relations.”

The Colombian Interior Minister, Alfonso Prada, said that with the formal reopening of the border between the two countries, a “great integration in terms of cargo, transport, flow and naturally there are the human beings, the Venezuelans who have arrived in Colombian territory”.

“Reclaim that a new day begins with the opening of the border, with the revitalization of our relations on the border”, Prada said at an event in Bogotá on September 9.

Although the two governments made these announcements, the airlines that will connect the two countries are still awaiting authorization from the civil authorities.

Stock image. Passengers are pictured at the Simón Bolívar international airport in Caracas, on June 17, 2016. Flights between Colombia and Venezuela are expected to resume on September 26, 2022 after years of cancellation of direct flights. (Credit: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)

What we know about the resumption of flights between Colombia and Venezuela

The Colombian Ministry of Transportation reported this Tuesday that two airlines will begin connections between Bogotá and Caracas in the coming days.

From September 26, the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa will make the first charter flight that will link Caracas and Bogotá, reported the Colombian Ministry of Transportation.

#20Sep The technical transport commission between Venezuela and Colombia was made up of authorities from the air, land and sea sectors, with the purpose of continuing to strengthen relations between both governments to boost the economy. pic.twitter.com/ZqUkluIcPT

– Ramón Celestino Velásquez Araguayán (@rvaraguayan) September 20, 2022

Meanwhile, from Colombia, the Wingo airline will make the first route that will connect the ElDorado international airports, in Bogotá, with the Maiquetía Simón Bolívar airport, which serves Caracas, on October 3.

According to the Ministry of Transport, both companies will have two to four weekly frequencies, but it is expected that “more airlines will fly this route, once the protocols are finished to authorize their operations,” says the Ministry of Transport of Colombia .

In the future, airlines are expected to connect Colombia with Venezuelan cities such as Valencia, Isla Margarita, Táchira and Maracaibo, the Ministry of Transportation reported.

Another of the airlines awaiting authorization to resume flights is Avianca, which submitted the request to reactivate the Bogotá – Caracas – Bogotá route.

Avianca told CNN on September 15 that it “recently” received the endorsement from the Venezuelan aviation authorities for its technical team to visit the Maiquetía international airport to start the technical and operational process to connect Bogotá and Caracas as soon as possible.

“In the meantime, we are still waiting for permission to commercialize the flight so that we can start operating it in the next two or three months,” Avianca told CNN in a statement, citing Viviana Martin, director of Global Institutional Relations for Avianca.

The airline told CNN that at this time they do not have a date for when the flights will start operating.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC) of Venezuela reported on September 9 that authorized flights with Colombia. The INAC did not give more details about which airlines were authorized to fly to Venezuela from Colombia, noting that restrictions on aviation operations are maintained due to the covid-19 pandemic.

For this reason, he said, air operations to Venezuela from a handful of countries such as Turkey, Russia, Mexico, Bolivia, Panama, Iran, Portugal, Cuba, among others, are only allowed “exceptionally”.

The Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, said that the Colombian government advance conversations with Caracas to restore direct flights from airlines such as Avianca, Latam, Ultra and Wingo. In Venezuela, the Avior airline already has approval and Laser Airlines is under review.

Currently, only seven international airlines operate in the country. Compared to 2013, the drop is approximately 80%, says ALAV. The lack of supply means that trips can sometimes be very expensive.