Colombia’s biggest national airline Avianca announced August 27 that it will restart national flights from Medellin’s Jose Maria Cordova (JMC) airport to-and-from Bogota starting September 1, then on September 7 relaunch flights at JMC to-and-from Cali and Cartagena.

Following five months grounded because of Covid-19 quarantines, Avianca restarts with 14 national routes, having now passed biosafety protocols “endorsed by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, ProColombia and Icontec with the ‘Certified Biosafety Check-in’ seal,” according to the company.

“Although initially the national operation will be only 12% of that existing before Covid-19 [quarantines], the company expects that demand and the need for connectivity will be activated quickly,” so Avianca will expand its itineraries, routes and frequencies “to the extent that the activation scheme designed by Aerocivil [Civil Aeronautics Authority] allows it,” according to the company.

“The initial fleet for said operation includes 20 aircraft, the Airbus 320 serving the trunk routes and the ATR72 for the regional operation.

“The company hopes that the favorable concept on the viability of international flights, recently issued by the Ministry of Health, will allow the rapid opening of the market to other countries that are high-impact destinations,” the company added.

Also starting September 1, Avianca flights to-and-from Bogotá include Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Montería, Pereira and San Andrés, with Pasto, Santa Marta and Villavicencio added on September 7.