In the midst of the steps taken between the governments of Gustavo Petro and that of Nicolás Maduro to achieve the opening of the border on September 26 and resume the bilateral relationship in all aspects, the air sector seems to be one of the most complex aspects of organizing between both nations.
On September 12, Wingo airline announced that it will have three routes between Colombia and Venezuela and, although the sale of tickets is not yet available, it assured that its first flights will be on October 4 on the Bogotá-Caracas route. The next day, September 13, the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics of Venezuela (INAC) denied having authorized Wingo to go to the country.
Juan Teixeira Diaz, president of INAChe detailed on his social networks that Wingo’s flights to Venezuela “have not yet been authorized by the Venezuelan aeronautical authority” and added that national and international airlines should not make these announcements without complying with the permits because they can end up making “misleading offers”.
After these warnings the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, assured that after having a meeting with the ministers and those in charge of Transport of both countries to “accelerate the normalization of flights” “open skies” were agreed between both countries and he explained that on “September 26, the first (flight) leaves”.
At the moment, the INAC has not confirmed whether it has already authorized the airline Wingo to resume the routes between Colombia and Venezuela, however, Ambassador Benedetti indicated that the return of the flights on September 26 will be based on what was said by the presidents of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
