Viva Air: what to do when you have tickets and an airline stops flying

On February 27, the low cost Viva Air, with its operations center at the José María Córdova international airport in Medellín, Colombia, announced the cessation

, causing crisis and uncertainty among passengers who had future trips with this company.

In addition, as it is an unexpected measure and with

, several passengers, including Argentines, were

at stopovers or at final destinations without knowing how to return to their places of origin, if they would have a

or if they would have to spend more money to obtain another passage.

At the end of last week, the airline in question enabled a web form where claims can be registered.

On Friday, March 4, it was also learned that the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) decreed the first precautionary measure against Viva Airlines Peru (international representation of Viva Air) in favor of a passenger affected by the suspension of operations of the airline: return the money or relocate it.

What does the law say in these cases?

“According to the provisions of Argentine regulations in this regard, the airline must seek to 

through all necessary means ;

either with another airline or returning the necessary money to be able to contract a new ticket and thus complete the itinerary ”, he affirms in conversation with

Santiago Aramburu, a lawyer specializing in the subject.

José María Rosa and his two children were stranded at the Medellín airport for 24 hours.

Photo José María Rosa.

And he adds: "The regulations, which are from 1998 and deserve an update, do not distinguish the response that the company has to give depending on whether the passengers are in their place of residence or on a section of their itinerary, or require special attention."

Aramburu explains that many times people incur the necessary

to be able to complete their itinerary, either buying new tickets to return to their place of residence or basic expenses such as

and

.

"Beyond the fact that the money is returned, sometimes it is necessary to cover expenses that were made as a result of the breach."

It also suggests an update of this regulation so that it contemplates these situations and includes variables such as distances, whether or not those affected are in their places of residence at the time of the conflict and particular situations, whether with minors or people with

.

A Viva Air passenger sleeps at the El Dorado airport in Bogotá.

AP Photo/Fernando Vergara.

What to do in the face of a bankrupt airline

According to the specialist on the subject, all travelers who are affected by a conflict of this type must:

• Keep all the

  documentation

  that proves that the service that was not used was paid for (vouchers, tickets or receipts).

• save the

  tickets of the expenses

  that were made as a consequence of the flight that could not be used.

• contact an employee of the

  airline

  to state what happened and try to settle it so that a response can be provided.

• If there is no response from the company, initiate a

  formal claim

  (at administrative headquarters or in court) for the return of the money, and in case of being stranded, request another company to provide the service, or, failing that, acquire a new ticket and

  keep the

  corresponding records for a subsequent judicial or administrative claim.

It is important to initiate the claim against the company registered in the country before a potential

is declared .

What happened to Viva Air and what was the response for the victims

Created in 2009, Viva Air, which operated daily flights between Ezeiza with Bogotá and Medellín and also had routes between Colombia, Brazil and Peru, suspended its flights in the middle of a negotiation for Aeronáutica Civil de Colombia to accept the integration of Viva by

.

Aerocivil does not approve of the union since it maintains that the economic group would reach

and that, in terms of free competition, it would mean a setback and a return to levels that were not seen in the country for more than seven years.

Viva Air statement when suspending its operations.

Meanwhile, from the airline they maintain that this merger is the

.

In the middle of the economic conflict were the passengers who were abruptly notified about the cessation of operations.

Faced with this situation,

is taking charge of travelers and offers flights,

, depending on availability, so that passengers can complete their trips or return to their country of origin.

Viva Air employees protesting in Bogotá.

Photo Juan Barreto / AFP.

In any case, the stranded Argentines have expressed in different media that the company did not take care of giving them

or

and that the Avianca seats would not be enough.

On the other hand, last week, according to the EFE news agency, dozens of Viva Air workers marched in Bogotá against "mass layoffs" from that company and asked the government to intervene to save the jobs that are lost due to bankruptcy.

look too

Air travel: what are the rights of passengers in the event of delays and cancellations?

Traveling by plane with children: documents, rates and services on board