Are flights between Colombia and Venezuela resumed? What we know

Why flying to or from Venezuela can be very expensive 2:36

(CNN Spanish) --

The airlines Avianca and Wingo obtained permission from the Colombian Civil Aeronautics to cover routes to Venezuela, which could lead to the finally resuming of flights between the two countries.

This is what we know.

The Colombian Civil Aeronautics gave the green light in the first half of 2022 to four operators and 62 new air routes, according to information published on its website.

Among the routes, two stand out that would allow connecting Colombia and Venezuela again.

Wingo airline was granted permission to make the trip between Bogotá and Valencia (Carabobo state) and Avianca approved the route Bogotá - Caracas - Bogotá.

Avianca had decided in 2017 to suspend flights to and from Venezuela due to "the difficulties" presented by the air operation in the country, according to a statement at the time.

The request made in May 2022 to the Civil Aeronautics was to make the route between the capitals of both countries seven times a week, flying in Airbus A319, A320 and A320N.

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From Venezuela, deputy José Gregorio Correa affirmed that the first or second week of September "the flights should be resuming" between Colombia and Venezuela.

"It cannot be that to go to Colombia you have to go to Panama first or to come to Venezuela you have to go to Panama first," he said in statements reported by various media.

As of February 2022, there were about 2.5 million Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, according to data provided this Wednesday by Migración Colombia.

Traveling by plane to Venezuela, a challenge

Venezuela's connectivity is 50% operational compared to before the pandemic, according to the Association of Venezuelan Airlines (ALAV).

The difficulties in flying to the country, however, predate the outbreak of covid-19, which paralyzed the airline industry.

According to the executive president of ALAV, Humberto Figueroa, one of the factors that led many airlines to leave the country years ago was the exchange control.

"The situation dates back to 2014, when the exchange institution at that time (Cadivi) no longer authorized the repatriation of profits from the airlines that operated in Venezuela, despite the fact that this was an obligation of the Venezuelan State," he explained in a statement. article published on the page of the association.

Currently, CNN's Osmary Hernández reported in this report, 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.

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean that have authorization from Venezuela to operate flights directly are Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, according to the specialized website aviacionline.com.

A recovering air market

The airline industry's losses will be $9.7 billion, according to a June report from the International Air Transport Association.

The figure represents an improvement over previous estimates and, above all, compared to the losses of 2020 and 2021, which were US$137.7 billion and US$42.1 billion, respectively.

By 2023, profitability "appears to be a given," according to the organization.

The improvements in results are due to the lifting of travel restrictions, strong demand and falling unemployment, among other factors.