Viva cancels 3 routes from Cali to Caribbean cities due to financial crisis

By: News Team

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Viva cancels 3 routes from Cali to Caribbean cities due to financial crisis

The airline Viva announced on Friday the cancellation of three routes that depart from the Colombian city of Cali and are destined for the Caribbean Cartagena de Indias, Santa Marta and San Andrés, due to the “complex reality” that this low-cost company lives.

“We regret to inform the operational closure of the Cali base and the cancellation of its direct routes: Cali-Cartagena, Cali-Santa Marta and Cali-San Andrés,” the airline said in a statement.

Viva, however, clarified that these suspensions “do not represent our total departure from Cali, but the interruption of direct routes to beaches.”

“The reduction in the offer of 17 weekly flights to and from Cali is derived from the difficult macroeconomic conditions that affect the airline industry and especially Viva, which in the absence of a shareholder to ensure financial support can not assume the extra costs caused by the exchange rate, inflation or the price of fuel. ” the airline added.

INTEGRATION WITH AVIANCA

On January 19, the Colombian authorities informed Avianca and Viva that they must formally reapply for their integration, after the Civil Aeronautics of Colombia (Aerocivil) has decided to study under another regulation the request to join.

The decision was made after an irregularity was found in the procedure that was applied from day zero of the presentation of the application to Aerocivil.

According to the resolution of the Ministry of Transport and Aerocivil, the methods of the Code of Administrative Procedure were used, but those to be applied were the rules of Colombia’s free competition regime.

Avianca and Viva hope to integrate under the cause of “company in crisis”, to be able to operate under the same regional holding, the Abra Group, which also includes the Brazilian GOL.

Last November, Avianca and Viva Air appealed Aerocivil’s decision to reject the integration of both companies, considering that it could generate an undue restriction of competition.

The airlines submitted, last August, to the control of the aeronautical authority the integration operation, but the entity concluded, after an analysis of a technical and legal team, that this “represents risks for competition in the sector and the welfare of consumers.”

Among the arguments given by the Aeronautics are that “this economic group would reach 100% of the participation in 16 national routes” and that, “in terms of free competition, it would mean a setback and return to levels that were not seen in the country more than seven years ago. “

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