This development positions Avianca as the sole airline providing direct flights between Bogotá and Quibdó. The airline’s domestic network now spans 40 routes, reaching destinations from San Andrés in the north to Leticia in the south, and from Quibdó in the west to Arauca in the east.

The flight schedule is as follows:

Bogotá to Quibdó: Flight AV8478 departs at 9:45 a.m., arriving at 10:50 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

Quibdó to Bogotá: Flight AV8477 departs at 12:33 p.m., arriving at 1:25 p.m. on the same day.

Tickets are available for purchase through Avianca’s official channels, including their website, mobile application, physical sales points, and authorized travel agencies.

In addition to expanding its route network, Avianca emphasizes its commitment to social responsibility by supporting organizations that provide medical and humanitarian assistance in underserved regions. The airline’s operations in areas like Chocó and Arauca aim to facilitate access to essential services and contribute to regional development.

This new route is part of Avianca’s broader strategy to enhance connectivity within Colombia, offering increased travel options for both residents and visitors.

Further, all air passengers must register using the CoronApp for domestic flights, and Check-Mig for international flights. These apps allow the government to track passengers, and the data is also compared to all COVID-19 exams taken within the country. Positive COVID-19 tests are automatically shared with the Colombian government.

“The reason we believe CoronApp is effective is because it now connects to the results of covid-19 samples and reveals whether people have tested positive in the last 14 days,” said Julián Alfredo Fernández Niño, MinSalud’s director of epidemiology and demography.

The new regulations, part of Resolution 411 of 2021, harmonizes and updates COVID travel measures for travelers. While some measures are more restrictive, others have been relaxed.

Aircraft equipped with seat-back entertainment systems may now be used when properly disinfected, and airlines may also issue blankets for a single use between laundering and disinfection. Airport VIP lounges may reopen, and the temperature of each entrant into airports no longer needs to be measured.

On the other hand, for flights of more than 2 hours when food and beverages are served, they may only be consumed at specific times, staggered per row in the aircraft. This is to prevent everyone on the plane removing their masks at the same time.

All passengers must wear masks at all times (except when eating or drinking during designated intervals), and passengers over 60 years old must wear N95 type masks. “This given the appearance of the new variants and the contact with people of different origins in closed spaces, which despite the ventilation of the airplanes, forces us to take extreme measures,” said Fernández.

MinSalud says that stricter testing measures are due in part to the appearances of new SARS-Cov-2 genetic mutations, including South African, British, and Brazilian variants. The testing regime for domestic travel in addition to international flights will allow epidemiologists to track contagion.

“With the appearance of three strains of public health interest and others under observation, a challenge is generated regarding the need to strengthen genomic surveillance. Therefore, the Ministry updates its recommendations based on the best available scientific evidence,” explained Fernández.

Photo of El Dorado International Airport disinfection courtesy MinSalud

“We won’t open intermunicipal transport during the month of June, nor domestic or international flights,” said President Ivan Duque. “We will make exceptions for humanitarian flights for the return of our compatriots to the country; we will maintain the borders closed for the month of June.”

“It is positive that we have a defined date for the effective sale of international tickets, but we call on the government to also define the date for domestic flights; key to the resumption of operations and survival of our airline,” Viva Air’s Commercial Vice President Lisa Monta Pinto told Finance Colombia.

“From Monday according to the minister’s announcement, we are authorized to start selling international tickets dated from September first. Based on that, at Viva we believe that sales of international flights will be slower than domestic flights. We know that initially, operations will be adjusted according to the demand that we experience. This will also allow us to determine how ticket sales will behave, so we will be constantly monitoring demand in order to be able to respond with opportunity, efficiency, and competitive value.”

“It is also important to highlight that at Viva we are ready to resume operations once we have the national government’s authorization as we prepare with all the biosecurity measures and protocols to continue to guarantee inclusive air travel in Colombia,” she said.

Decree 749 also orders that Colombia’s borders—land, sea & riparian—remain closed with Venezuela, Peru, Panamá, Brazil and Ecuador until July 1 except for cargo, merchandise, force majeure, humanitarian emergencies, or the departure of foreigners coordinated by Migration Colombia, the country’s immigration enforcement authority.

The decree stipulates punishment for noncompliance under Article 368 of the Penal Code: “Whoever violates a sanitary measure adopted by the competent authority to prevent the introduction or spread of an epidemic will be imprisoned for four to four years and, in addition, will have to pay the fines ordered by Decree 780 of 2016, issued by the Ministry of Health.”