By Juan Pedro Sanchez Zamudio
Spirit Airlines Becomes First International Carrier to Resume Operations to Colombia
From Sept. 19, Spirit Airlines will restart direct flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), to Cartagena, Colombia. Spirit will be the first international airline to resume operations to Colombia. This flight will arrive to Cartagena at 12:36 (UTC-5) and would leave again to Fort Lauderdale at 13:36 (UTC-5). Additionally, Spirit will restart flights from Bogotá, Medellín and Cali to Fort Lauderdale from Sept. 21.
According to ALNNEWS, since the Colombian borders were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 17, Spirit Airlines worked in collaboration with the U.S. embassy in Bogotá and the Colombian government to carry out humanitarian flights between the two countries. What began as a single humanitarian flight in early April, turned into almost 200 flights that repatriated more than 25,000 people between the U.S. and nine countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, with Colombia being the main collaborator in this mission.
Spirit is the airline with the largest number of direct flights connecting Colombia with the U.S. In the last 12 years, the airline has flown almost 3 million passengers between these two countries Since the beginning of its operations in May 2008, Spirit has continued its growth in its operations, offering direct flights between the U.S. and the cities of Cartagena, Bogotá, Medellín, Armenia and Cali. Additionally in January, Spirit announced the future addition of flights to Bucaramanga and Barranquilla; these routes will open at the end of 2020.
This Sept. 19, the Colombian low-cost airline, Viva Air Colombia, will become the first Colombian airline to resume international operations in Colombia, after being inoperative for 6 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Viva Air Airbus A320 (Photo: Primx28 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons)
According to torreeldorado, the international route selected by Viva Air Colombia for the resumption of the operations is Medellín – Cartagena – Miami – Cartagena – Medellín. This flight will be made by an Airbus A320 CEO with a capacity to carry 188 passengers. The departure from Cartagena to Miami is scheduled for 12:10 (UTC-5).
This frequency will be operated 3 times a week: on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Viva Air is waiting for the Peruvian Government authorization to operate flights to Lima, with which the airline would complete all its international routes.
From Sept. 21, Colombia will resume international operations with Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the United States of America. The international airports in Colombia that will begin operations gradually will be in Cartagena, Cali, Medellín and Bogotá.
According to Infobae, since domestic flights were officially reactivated on Sept. 1, 1,300 flights have been carried out in which more than 123,500 passengers have been mobilized.
The three things Juan Pedro loves most about aviation are aircraft, airports, and traveling thousands of miles in just a few hours. What he enjoys the most about aviation is that it is easier and cheaper to travel around the world and this gives you the opportunity to visit places you thought were too far away. He has traveled to different destinations in North, Central, South America and Asia. Born, raised and still living in Perú, Juan is a lawyer, soccer lover, foodie, passionate traveler, dog lover, millennial and curious by nature.
