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Although since September 1, the restrictions on commercial passenger flights to and from abroad were lifted in the country, and the first operations will be today to the United States, with the Medellín-Cartagena-Miami (Viva Air) flight already Fort Lauderdale-Cartagena, of Spirit airline, the return on a larger scale of operations will only occur until October.(It may interest you: You are going to travel outside the country, these are the protocols you must follow)
Although the Minister of Transport, Ángela María Orozco, emphasizes that from Monday, September 21, the gradual reactivation of four airports will begin (El Dorado de Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena and Medellín), for now there are not many defined routes, however the desire that airlines, travel agencies and travelers have to reactivate the activity.
The foregoing, according to Maristella Rodríguez Garzón, sales manager for Colombia at Air France-KLM, because after a meeting last Wednesday with Civil Aeronautics, companies must wait for authorizations for the slots, that is, landing rights. and take off, to determine the frequencies.
Until this Friday Aerocivil had not spoken (it is expected to be today). Only with the defined slots, airlines will be able to organize their flights, sales and have occupancy forecasts.
Additionally, the recent government demand to request proof of coronavirus from those who enter the country has had a negative effect on Colombians who were interested in traveling.
Sammy Bessudo, president of Aviatur, revealed that due to this situation, reservations have had an 80 percent cancellation in recent days.
The foregoing because, for example, a family with children that buys a tourist package for Cancun (Mexico), in case one of its members tests positive, will have to stay abroad in quarantine and will have to bear the costs for the additional days that have to stay there.
For the manager, the most sensible thing, for the sake of the reactivation of the economy and health care, is that the test is applied when entering the country. “If it comes out negative, wonderful and if it is positive, the person quarantines in her country and at home,” she added.
If it comes out negative, wonderful and if it is positive, the person quarantines in his country and at home
Even, Bessudo warns that by requiring the test the country is exposing itself to the United States, the main market for foreign travel, ending up doing the same and this would affect the flow of travelers.
(In context: International destinations that you can go to from September 21)
In the midst of this barrier, the truth is that the opening of flights would be rapid to the countries of the American continent, since, according to the Ministry of Transportation, the countries with immediate connectivity and whose routes would be the first to move are the United States, Mexico , the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia.
In the case of Europe, the restart depends on the fact that there is no prohibition in any country of the European Community for the arrival of travelers, blockade that exists in Spain and Italy.
“No matter how much we start, in Europe they are not receiving Colombian tourists yet”, emphasizes Maristella Rodríguez, from Air France-KLM.
Slow approach
EL TIEMPO consulted 12 airlines about the routes with which they would begin to resume international operations to and from Colombia, and of the 11 that responded, some have not defined the first destinations, others hope to resume firmly in October, according to the progress of the aeronautical authorities and the Foreign Ministry, which manages to put the aviation organizations of each nation in contact, so that the complex network of flights is reorganized.
In the case of Avianca Holdings, the commercial vice president of the company, Silvia Mosquera, indicated that the aeronautical and government authorizations on routes and operational capacity of each airport are being reviewed.
Santiago Álvarez, Executive Director of Latam Airlines Colombia, indicated that initially they requested the routes Lima-Bogotá-Lima and Santiago de Chile-Bogotá-Santiago de Chile, but as these two countries have not been authorized, there is still no start date, which it is expected to resume in October.
In the case of Peru, one of the countries with the highest traffic from Colombia, the reactivation will only begin on October 15, because the deadline was extended. In Viva Air, after today’s flight, on September 23 the Medellín-Miami route is made, waiting for the reopening of Peru.
In turn, Delta Airlines indicated that the plan for now is to resume the route between Bogotá and Atlanta (United States) with four flights per week as of October 1, while Eduardo Lombana, Copa Airlines vice president of operations, confirmed that in October (day to be defined) they will resume the routes between Panama and Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Cartagena.
The routes to Barranquilla, Bucaramanga and Pereira would enter in November, while the return to San Andrés will be in December.
In the case of American Airlines, the plan is to resume operations in Cali, Cartagena and Medellín on September 24, departing from Miami, and the resumption of flights to Bogotá would be on October 8, from Miami and Dallas / Fort Worth.
At Air Canada, Juan Manuel Calvo, sales manager for Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba and Panama, said that the Toronto-Bogotá route is being approved by Aerocivil and without this clarity they cannot start the sale of tickets.
In turn, United Airlines plans to resume in October, offering 4 weekly flights to Houston from Bogotá, this subject to government approval.
Europe, in the waiting room
With the entry of Colombian travelers to Europe still blocked (Spain and Italy), there is no certainty if the start of flights will be in October or will have to wait until November.
According to Antonio Cuoco, director for Colombia of the German airline Lufthansa, the company is still deciding the conditions to fly back to the country, from Frankfurt.
“The requirement of PCR tests, added to the high standards of cleanliness and biosafety in our aircraft, can give Colombians the certainty that our return will be completely safe and will contribute to the economic reactivation,” he stressed.
For his part, Alberto Cladera, Air Europa manager for Colombia, Panama and Central America, indicated that although the resumption date of flights to Madrid (Spain) is not defined, they trust that it will be in the shortest possible time since after After 6 months of non-operation, with the resumption of flights on September 21, the restart will not be long, for which the company has around 4,500 active reservations between the routes to and from Bogotá and Medellín.
With the entry of Colombian travelers to Europe still blocked (Spain and Italy), there is no certainty if the start of flights will be in October
Measures and requirements to travel to or from Colombia
The health secretariats or related entities of the cities to which the airports that will resume international air travel as of today and in the coming weeks will be, in accordance with resolution 1627 of the Ministry of Health, in charge of guaranteeing the compliance with the biosecurity protocol to prevent the spread of covid-19.
(In other news: See how to access the subsidy to buy a home in the middle class)
Beyond the mandatory use of a mask permanently and social distancing, international passengers must arrive a maximum of three hours before their trips to the airports and before boarding they will be required, if the destination countries require it, negative results of PCR molecular tests issued no more than 96 hours before the flight. Whoever does not have that document or shows symptoms of coronavirus infection will not be able to fly.
Airlines must inform in advance which destinations require these tests, the cost of which will be borne by passengers, to enter their territory.
The requirement of the PCR test applies to all people who wish to enter Colombia.
Travelers must also report their health status through the Coronapp application and they will be required to fill out in its entirety, before entering the entry or exit immigration control posts, the Check-Mig application form.
On flights of less than two hours, the toilets may not be used, except in exceptional cases, nor will there be service on board. In the aircraft it is mandatory to keep the assigned chair.
(Can read: International travel: they will ask for a covid test after September 30)
Those who are going to take flights of more than two hours must wear several face masks to replace them constantly.
On long trips, food will be distributed by letter, so that there are no passengers in the same row eating at the same time.
Entertainment stations – screens and controls – must be disinfected before and after each trip.
OMAR G. SMOKED RED
Deputy Editor of Economy and Business at EL TIEMPO
On twitter: @omarahu
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