BOGOTÁ.- The Colombian low-cost airline Viva Air suspended its operations this Monday due to the financial difficulties it faces to function and left hundreds of passengers stranded in Colombian airports, among them, regarding a hundred Argentines.
The suspension of operations since Monday night, which includes the interruption of the sale of tickets and the paralysis of its entire fleet of aircraft, occurred following the Civil Aeronautics admitted the intervention of interested third parties -among them, Argentinian airlines– In the process of integrating Viva with Avianca.
“Is a gotcha”, he told El Tiempo, next to the empty airline counters in El Dorado, Bogotá. “They closed everything and left”, he added, and commented that they offered to return the money he had paid for the tickets three months ago, but that it is not enough to buy other tickets to return to Buenos Aires, in addition to the fact that it can be obtained through a process with bureaucratic obstacles.
“The company should cover the per diem, not let us sleep at the airport,” he added. In addition, he commented that he contacted the Argentine consulate: “They treated us very kindly but they have not done anything. Instead, the Peruvian embassy has welcomed people into hotels.”
At the same airport, Fiorella and Carolina, who were returning from Cartagena de Indias and yesterday were scheduled to take the flight from Viva to Buenos Aires at 7:00 p.m., told the C5N channel that they were not given food or drink and that they had to spend the night in the airport.
“What concerns us all is that We do not have any official news regarding when we will be able to return to our destinationthey said. “We are all wondering where to sleep, without any answer,” they added.
From the Foreign Ministry they pointed out to THE NATION that they are aware of the situation and that they seek a solution for the stranded Argentines.
So far, the airline has not offered concrete solutions to passengers either. “For those passengers affected by our suspension of operationswe invite you to enter www.vivaair.com for more information; or if they wish, they can wait for instructions by the Civil Aeronautics, which has publicly declared that it will implement plans to help affected passengers”, was the message issued by the airline.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport, William Reyes, announced that other companies are looking to transfer stranded passengers to their destinations. Finally, around 10 in the morning local time (midday in Argentina), Aeronáutica Civil, which reports to the Ministry of Transportation, reported via Twitter that in order to “Passengers who have a ticket issued or a confirmed reservation for February 27 and 28, and for tomorrow March 1, 2023 with the airline Viva Air, the airlines Latam, Avianca and Satena offer the alternative of shared routes, according to the availability of chairs, without additional cost”.
The governing body for civil aviation in Colombia, Aeronáutica Civil, admitted on Monday Aerolíneas Argentinas, Ultra Air, Wingo, Latam and JetSMART as interested third parties in the process following arguing that they might be affected by the integration of Viva Air with Avianca.
“This decision, unprecedented by the entity, will result in new delays in making a decision, so Viva is forced to announce, unfortunately, the suspension of its operations with immediate effect”a statement from the airline said Monday night.
Viva Air assured that despite the paralysis it will continue negotiations with creditors under a business reorganization process, which began this month, and will work to preserve its ability to restart operations at a future date, assuming that Civil Aeronautics immediately approves the pending alliance.
The airline with routes to the interior of Colombia and to Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and the United States, had already grounded five Airbus A320 planes a week ago, while it named Francisco Lalinde as president and interim CEO to replace Félix Antelo, who resigned citing health problems.
Colombia’s flagship airline, Avianca, signed an agreement with Viva in April 2022 for a business integration process aimed at rescuing the low-cost company, but Civil Aeronautics objected in November.
After an appeal by Avianca and Viva, the aviation governing body annulled the integration process in January due to irregularities in the procedure and reopened it. Although the two companies are still awaiting a response to their integration process from Civil Aeronautics, this month the ultra-low-cost airline JetSMART announced its intention to buy 100% of Viva, a bid to which added LATAM Airlines.
Viva reiterated that allowing it to become the low-cost subsidiary of a larger and stronger airline group is the only option to continue offering Colombian travelers access to low prices, efficient service, and air connections to the most remote cities in the country.
Viva, which emerged as a low-cost airline with operations in Colombia and Peru, has a fleet of 21 aircraft and 1,000 direct employees.
The airline is going through a complex financial situation due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, aggravated by the rise in the price of fuel during 2022 and the devaluation of the Colombian peso.
Archyde.com Agency and El Tiempo newspaper
THE NATION