Copa Holdings SA is planning to boost flights to Venezuela as a budding economic recovery boosts demand for travel, and new connections to Colombia are set to open.
(Bloomberg) — Copa Holdings SA is planning to boost flights to Venezuela as a budding economic recovery boosts demand for travel, and new connections to Colombia are set to open.
The Panama-based airline aims to add eight new flights to its existing 35 per week, Copa’s general manager in Venezuela, Roberto Pulido, said Tuesday. These will connect the capital and three other cities to Panama City, he said, in an interview in Caracas.
Improved relations between Venezuela and neighboring Colombia are also increasing opportunities for airlines. Copa’s low-cost carrier Wingo is ready to resume flights between the two countries once it receives authorization from their governments, he added.
Other carriers including Turkish Airlines and Spain’s Iberia are also increasing operations in the country as it rebounds from a seven-year slump. Venezuela’s economy grew 6% last year, its fastest pace since 2007 according to an estimate by the International Monetary Fund, as the oil sector recovered amid an easing of US sanctions.
“Our current occupancy rate is above 80%,” Pulido said. “That is very high.”
The extra connections, which include a daily route from the western city of Maracaibo, would be a welcome respite for Venezuelans, who have had few flight options in recent years. During the prolonged downturn, airlines including United Airlines Holdings Inc., American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. suspended flights to the country, leaving it largely cut off for international travelers.
The situation was made worse by US sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led the US to ease its curbs on Venezuela’s oil sector, while the victory of the leftist Gustavo Petro in Colombia’s presidential election caused a dramatic improvement in relations between Caracas and Bogota.
Last June, Copa added the Venezuelan city of Barcelona to its direct destinations from Panama. The route to this eastern town close to oil fields in Anzoategui and Monagas states is now the fastest-growing in the country, Pulido said.
Read more: Airlines Poised to Resume Venezuela Routes Abandoned Years Ago
Debt Issue
For years, Venezuela’s government has carried a debt with Copa, as currency controls prevented the company from getting revenues out of the socialist nation. The controls have since been abolished, and the economy is now largely dollarized.
While the company has held meetings with government officials to seek alternative ways of payment, no concrete solution has been reached, Pulido said.
“We understand that this is something that must be resolved down the line, but so far, we continue with our operations,” he said.
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