BOGOTÁ (AP) — The Colombian government sued low-cost airline Viva Air for alleged fraud and deceptive product offerings for the sale of thousands of airline tickets to passengers until hours before suddenly shutting down operations in due to a financial crisis.
The Ministerio de Transporte reported on the miércoles in a comunicado that the denuncia penal ante la Fiscalía was founded in that Viva Air mantuvo abiertos sus canales commerciales para vender sus tiquetes antes de la suspension de sus operaciones el 27 de febrero “evidence dolo por parte de la company”.
Through the sale of air tickets and receipt of payments from various travel agencies, Viva has raised nearly 272 billion pesos, which is said to be equivalent to $57 million, the ministry added.
The suspension of Viva Air operations left thousands of passengers stranded for several days at airports in Colombia and Peru who had to be relocated on flights from other airlines.
According to the ministry, the airline has not refunded the money to the thousands of affected passengers, “thus violating the economic legacy of Colombians who have purchased its services”, it said. Viva Air had sold over 460,000 tickets in 2023.