LATAM and Avianca Resume Pereira Flights as Matecaña Airport Reopens

Coffee Region regains air links over two weeks after deadly quake

LATAM Airlines Colombia and Avianca are both resuming flights to Pereira’s Aeropuerto Internacional Matecaña (Matecaña International Airport) on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, after the Aeronáutica Civil (Civil Aviation Authority), commonly known as Aerocivil, certified the terminal’s reopening following the magnitude-7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia on August 10. Both carriers said service will restart below pre-earthquake levels and expand gradually as repairs to the terminal continue, just over two weeks after the quake forced the airport shut.

The earthquake, centered near San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó, had killed 329 people and left 234 missing as of August 24, according to Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (National Disaster Risk Management Unit, UNGRD) figures reported that day by El Tiempo. According to El Espectador, three people died at Matecaña itself when the quake struck, and cracked ceiling panels in the terminal’s waiting areas forced the suspension of commercial operations; the runway and control tower were undamaged, which let the airport keep functioning as a staging point for humanitarian aid and rescue personnel even while commercial flights were suspended. Aerocivil has authorized 20 daily flights for the restart, and with the terminal’s second and third floors still closed, passengers will use two of the airport’s normal six waiting lounges, airport manager Luis Fernando Collazos told Caracol Radio, per El Espectador.

LATAM Airlines Colombia said it will operate two daily flights from Bogotá and one from Medellín to Pereira, for 21 weekly frequencies, with a return to its pre-earthquake schedule of five daily flights tied to the airport’s full recovery. The carrier is also adding two daily flights to Armenia, for three total, while Pereira’s capacity stays limited. LATAM has capped fares at $228,000 COP per segment to Pereira and $234,000 COP to Armenia, plus taxes and fees, and is offering fee-free date, route or cancellation changes, with no fare difference, to passengers with flights booked between August 10 and 31 to or from Pereira, Cali and Armenia; those passengers can rebook trips up to a year out. “With the reopening of Matecaña Airport, we are not only restoring Pereira’s connectivity to our network, but also regaining the ability to put our operation at the service of the region,” said Erika Zarante, chief executive of LATAM Airlines Colombia since January 2025 and a 23-year veteran of the aviation sector. LATAM said it is using the resumed route, along with its Avión Solidario (Solidarity Plane) cargo program, to help move aid and supplies into the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Region).

Avianca is restarting Bogotá service the same day as LATAM, August 26, with Medellín service following on August 27; its initial schedule totals four daily flights, three from Bogotá and one from Medellín. The airline said it plans to expand to 10 daily flights, eight from Bogotá and two from Medellín, as the airport’s infrastructure recovers. Avianca’s rebooking flexibility covers passengers with flights booked between August 10 and 30 to or from Pereira, Armenia, Cali and Quibdó, which the airline named as the four cities affected by the earthquake. “The safety of our passengers and staff is the condition that guides every step of this reactivation, and that is why we are resuming service gradually and in full coordination with the aeronautical authority,” said Ángela María Orozco, Avianca’s senior vice president of corporate affairs and a former Colombian minister of transport. She said the airline would keep expanding capacity toward Pereira “to keep connecting the Coffee Region with the rest of the country and contribute to the recovery of mobility, tourism and economic activity” there.

Avianca is privately held under Abra Group, the Bogotá-based holding company that also owns Brazil’s Gol Linhas Aéreas and holds a stake in Chile’s Sky Airline; Abra has said it intends to list shares in the United States in 2026 but had not done so as of this writing. LATAM Airlines Colombia is a unit of Santiago-based LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE: LTM; Bolsa de Santiago: LTM), which also operates in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador.

Pereira was not the only city affected: Avianca’s flexibility measures also cover Armenia, Cali and Quibdó, which it listed among the areas hit by the earthquake, and LATAM’s flexibility measures cover Pereira, Cali and Armenia. Matecaña — Risaralda’s main gateway and a hub for the wider Coffee Region — was among the hardest-hit facilities, with its commercial terminal closed for more than two weeks. Both airlines are urging affected passengers to check flight status through their apps or websites, Avianca’s mobile app and LATAM’s Mis Viajes tool, before heading to the airport.