The rising in Colombia’s International Air Market
The first thing a foreigner will meet after arriving to Bogota City will be its renovated airport El Dorado, which according to the annual ranking of World Airport Awards that surveys more than 13 million travelers from 550 airports, is the best in Latin America and ranked number 46 around the world. The airport also won a four star rating and the Best Staff in South America award granted by Skytrax, in which they qualify efficiency, politeness, language, attitude and knowledge, of which El dorado was rated with equal or above the world average standards.
With 27 million passengers a year, this is the third busiest airport in Latin America after Guarulhos in São Paulo and Benito Juarez in Mexico City. The airport is named after the lost and legendary golden city, which is believed is located under the actual Colombia, that was a temptation for conquerors who could never find the hidden treasures. Nevertheless, centuries later, investors in the airport have found gold because of the increasing number of passengers and new domestic and international routes.
The entry of new airlines into the country
According to the Civil Aeronautics records, in the past 10 years there was a 45% increase in the arrival of foreign commercial aviation companies, while in 2006 there were only 22 airlines with a trade route to the country, mainly concentrated in Bogota, in August, this year there were 32 lines with international routes that arrive at other cities such like Cali.
As an example of this is TAP, a Portuguese airline that opened a direct flight to Lisbon, in addition to KLM that are planning a route to Amsterdam, and also Turkish Airlines, considered to be one of the best in Europe. Along with this, it is known that the Middle Eastern Airlines Etihad and Emirates Airways have expressed their interest in expanding their services to Colombia.
Over the past year there were some already approved routes that advantaged companies like Air Panama, Aruba Airlines, Insel Air Aruba, TAM, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Iberia and Air Europa for international routes, such as the restoration of the Miami-Barranquilla flight from American Airlines. Meanwhile, Avianca, Easy Fly and LAN Colombia also had approvals in domestic flight routes.
More international travelers
As foreign airlines have increased their destinations in Colombian tracks, international travelers also have grown in numbers. Aerocivil pointed that between 2005 and 2015, international travelers increased by 175%, coming from 4 million first year to 11 million mobilizations last year.
In the first half of 2016, this type of travelers increased in 8.3%, driven mainly by the augment in routes to the United States, which grew 10.29% between January and June this year. Similarly, routes to Europe expanded 12.3%.
With the modernization of Bogota’s airport infrastructure and major cities in the country, the entry of new airlines to Colombia and the continuous increment of international travelers, the nation could take advantage of its geographical location and its role in the region’s commerce, to become a more globalized economy.
