Page Seven / La Paz
Passengers who traveled to different regions of the country during the Carnival holidays reported damages and delays for several hours in the departure of Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) flights. The state airline admitted different problems.
BoA’s manager, Ronald Casso, informed Página Siete that 12 flights were delayed over the weekend. “We have had 12 flights delayed mainly on Friday night. On Saturday and subsequent days we have had a lower rate of problems and preventive and corrective measures were applied, ”he said.
He explained that different problems arose, from some failures in the planes, from technical aspects, to meteorological inconveniences such as rain and fog, as well as crowding at the airports due to the high demand. “What was done is to address all the complaints made directly to BoA or to the ATT and these claims must follow the administrative procedure. Several claims have already been dealt with in exchange for flights, new programming. There were a number of complaints that have been resolved,” he said.
He stated that BoA activated an audit of all the failures presented and an action plan and is working to avoid the inconveniences presented in recent days. “We evaluate each case and all claims are addressed and it is about preventing that from happening again. There is a regulatory framework, depending on the time, there are different levels of compensation that are mandatory and others that must be analyzed in each case, ”he specified.
The journalist and television presenter Mariana Dupleich expressed her annoyance on Carnival Monday from the Tarija airport, since she could not travel to Cochabamba at the scheduled time.
In his social networks, he said that his flight was scheduled for 7:35 p.m.; To make sure, he called at 4:00 p.m. and they told him it was on time. He then contacted BoA again at 17:00 and told her that the flight was delayed until 20:35. “I arrived at the airport an hour and a half earlier than they told me, but they told me that the flight was closed. They close it to avoid fines from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC), but that means that we passengers scrub ourselves, that we burn ourselves with the heat without air, without a chinstrap so that they do not get fined, ”he said.
She added that she had to wait with her baby in her arms, her other daughter sleeping on the airport floor, since the airline did not give her a solution.
Dupleich had to wait for the flight to Santa Cruz that left at 10:00 p.m. and leave the next day at 6:00 a.m. for Cochabamba with her baby, daughter, and luggage. “From Tarija I had to agree to go to Santa Cruz, from there I left at 6:00. They offered me a Sun hotel, I had no space, there was no transfer. I waited half an hour, a transfer arrived with no space for luggage, I went back to BoA and they told me they would take me to a downtown hotel where I arrived at 1:30. At 6:00 a transfer from BoA had to pick me up; They never did, I had to go to the airport in a private taxi, they did nothing, just pay for the hotel, ”he told Página Siete.
Other complaints abound on BoA’s Facebook page about delays of several hours for flights scheduled for the days of Carnival. “On Friday the Santa Cruz-Oruro flight was scheduled for 3:40 p.m. and left at 6:20 p.m., be more responsible,” wrote Javier R. “ATT Bolivia does nothing, always on BoA’s side, so far I have no answer to my claim”, indicated Eliana P.
“They called to tell me that my flight was suspended and they changed me to another with a stopover in which I lose the whole day, with additional expenses,” added LMA
“Three hours late. Literally all flights delayed today. Lousy service,” said Daniel S. also on Facebook.
Survey and complaints
- Consultation • Mariana Dupleich, journalist and TV presenter, carried out a quick survey as a result of the problem she faced with the BoA service. She asked in her networks if another airline is needed in Bolivia. 99% answered “Yes, urgent” and only 1% said “No, I love BoA”. 10,978 people responded to the query.
- ATT • Page Seven contacted the press office of the regulatory entity to ask about the complaints that exist in the air service and if any authority can refer, but no response was obtained. On its website, it indicates that as of October 2021, 39% of claims are for customer service, 32% for flights, 14% for tickets, and 9% for baggage.
