:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/UEUV3LFBAFH6VCZ2TCW6LZR3ZU.jpg "A low-cost Colombian airline has suspended all flights and there are Argentines affected")
Low-cost airline Viva Air has suspended operations in Colombia due to the critical financial situation it is going through, pending the completion of an integration process with a group of airlines that must be approved by the authorities of this country.
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The suspension of operations was notified by the airline on Monday evening with “immediate effect” and without indicating to passengers the steps to follow to continue their routes. On Tuesday, dozens of people demanded an immediate solution at Bogotá’s international airport as they waited with their suitcases on chairs or lying on the ground.
Among those affected are Argentine passengers, since the company operates two daily flights to Argentina: one departing from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá and the other departing from José María Córdova Airport in Rionegro, Medellín.
Viva Air “disappeared”: it suspended its operations and left all its planes on the ground
Passengers stranded at different airports in the country demand a quick solution from the low-cost in order to get to their destination.
At one point it was assumed that these passengers would be relocated on Aerolíneas Argentinas flights, which have a daily frequency between Buenos Aires and Bogotá. However, from the Argentine airline they reported that they do not have an emission agreement with Viva and, on the other hand, they already have their flights fully booked with their own passengers. “For the moment we have not received any instructions,” they assured.
Meanwhile, the Colombian Transport Superintendency, the sector’s authority, on Tuesday urged Viva Air to guarantee the rights of users by maintaining communication channels and immediately seeking the solutions “that the transport contract requires of them”.
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La Aeronautica Civil indicated that Latam, Avianca and Satena offer alternative transport, without additional cost and acuerdo a la disponibilidad que tengan, a los pasajeros que posean boleto o reserva confirmed de Viva Air para los días 27 y 28 de febrero y 1 Of March.
Viva Air represents approximately 20% of the market in Colombia with national and international flights and has 5,000 direct and indirect workers in the country. Seven months ago, Viva Air and Avianca began a commercial integration process with Colombian Civil Aeronautics, which the airlines said would allow Viva Air to continue operations as a low-cost subsidiary of Avianca. , which represents approximately 40% of the Colombian market.
However, the process ran into several hurdles and in November the Air Transport Authority opposed it because the alliance “tended to produce an undue restriction of competition” in the country. After an appeal, the process was reactivated in January.
“Unfortunately, we are at this point due to repeated delays by Civil Aeronautics and its failure to recognize that what is best for Viva is also best for all Colombians,” the airline said in a statement. communicated.
Civil Aeronautics, for its part, defended itself by saying that it was efficient and “rigorously” respected the terms of the procedure. The agency announced its decision to admit the airlines Ultra Air, Wingo, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Latam and Jetsmart as third parties interested in the process after expressing their interest in participating as they are competitors in the market and the business integration process. could affect them, according to information from the AP agency.
These airlines warned the Colombian authority that a possible approval of the integration could generate a high degree of concentration of the participation of the routes on which they will be in competition, a limitation of the access to the airport infrastructure of the Dorado airport or practices that generate “exclusion effects” such as offering low prices to create barriers.
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