Ultra Air suspends operations in Colombia

On the afternoon of this Wednesday, the airline Ultra Air announced through a statement that “as of tonight at 12:00 am, the operation of the airline Ultra Air in Colombia is suspended, for which reason it will not fly in any of its scheduled routes as of March 30”, due to the “adverse macroeconomic situations”, which have generated a deficit for the airline in recent months.

As explained by the airline in the official letter, this determination is due to various factors, including the increase in fuel and the exchange rate, which caused a substantial increase in costs for the airlines, which finally led to the financial crisis in the low cost airline.

Likewise, the suspension of operations of Viva Air, “put industry suppliers and aircraft lessors on alert, who began to demand immediate payments and even prepayments for the supplies and services necessary for the operation, which is not usual.” in this industry.” Consequently, “Ultra Air is unable to continue operating.”

Remember that Ultra Air is a low-cost airline, founded in Rionegro, Antioquia by businessman William Shaw, which began operating on February 23, 2022, with flights from Bogotá to Medellín and San Andrés; although it had authorization to operate 29 national and 15 international routes. Throughout these thirteen months, it managed to mobilize more than two million people.

Regarding this, the Minister of Transportation, Guillermo Reyes, in his Twitter account, stated that airlines that announce suspension of activities must “Comply with the RAC and contingency plan submitted to the Superintendency of Transportation.”

In addition, the Minister of Transportation pointed out that Avianca will protect ULTRA passengers in the following way:

1. Free protection, subject to space and in order of arrival at the airport for those who have a flight date with Viva and Ultra airlines until April 1.
2. Protection rates per trip in national and international destinations for those who have a flight date with Viva and Ultra airlines until April 9.

In other words, those passengers who had scheduled flights with Ultra Air for the following days will be relocated to Avianca.

Similarly, Ultra Air indicated that affected travelers can contact [email protected] to receive more information.

“We apologize to our travelers for the inconvenience that may arise from this decision, which, as we said before, we deeply regret,” the airline said.