Avianca is stepping up in the wake of the quakes. Avianca is temporarily launching new flights to Valencia, Venezuela, as the airline responds to the earthquake emergency that has disrupted air travel into the country.
The carrier has opened bookings for temporary service between Bogotá and Valencia, providing an alternative while operations at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, the country’s primary international gateway serving Caracas, continue to recover following the earthquakes.
The emergency flights are initially scheduled to operate through July 10, although Avianca said the service could be extended depending on how the situation develops.
The temporary operation is intended to help maintain air connectivity between Colombia and Venezuela while supporting rescue and humanitarian efforts during the emergency.
The new route gives travelers another way to reach Venezuela while normal operations at Maiquetía continue to be restored.
At the same time, the flights will carry rescue workers, medical personnel, emergency response teams and humanitarian aid into the country in coordination with several of Avianca’s social impact partners.
Those organizations include the Colombian Red Cross, Ruta Animal, ABACO and the Colombian Civil Air Patrol, all of which are supporting relief efforts following the earthquakes.
“We continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela and everyone who needs to travel to or from the country,” said Gabriel Oliva, President of Avianca.
“This daily service to Valencia builds on the efforts carried out in coordination with authorities, governments and social impact partners to transport rescue teams and humanitarian aid in support of the emergency response.”
The airline said the operation is designed to serve both humanitarian needs and passengers whose travel plans have been affected by the disruption at Caracas’ primary airport.
The temporary operation includes two daily roundtrip flights between Bogotá and Valencia, operated with Airbus A320 aircraft.
The first departure leaves Bogotá at 7:35 a.m., arriving in Valencia at 10:35 a.m. The return flight departs Valencia at 12:27 p.m., landing back in Bogotá at 1:10 p.m.
A second daily service departs Bogotá at 11:20 p.m., arriving in Valencia at 2:20 a.m. the following day. The return flight leaves Valencia at 4:17 a.m., arriving in Bogotá at 5:00 a.m.
According to the airline, the schedule closely mirrors its normal Bogotá-Caracas service, helping accommodate customers with existing reservations while creating additional capacity during the emergency.
To make travel easier during the disruption, Avianca has made the temporary Bogotá-Valencia flights available at special fares.
Tickets can be purchased through avianca.com, the Avianca mobile app, the airline’s contact center and authorized travel agencies.
The airline said the pricing is intended to support passengers who need to travel while normal operations into Caracasremain affected.
Alongside the temporary flights, Avianca is continuing the passenger protection measures it announced for customers holding tickets with travel dates between June 24 and July 15.
Passengers may change their travel dates through Aug. 31 without paying change fees or fare differences, subject to seat availability.
Eligible customers also have the option of changing their itinerary to travel to or from Valencia, Cúcuta or Riohacha at no additional cost, provided seats are available. Those itinerary changes must be arranged through the airline’s contact center.
