Lot's happening in Colombian airspace as Country's low cost carrier Ultra Air has ceased its operations just after the Colombian Civil Aviation Regulator approved the merger between Avianca and Viva Air. The carrier had started flying in February 2022 and did the final flights on 29 March 2023.
Ultra Air said in its release,
We deeply regret to inform all our clients, suppliers and authorities that, as of tonight at 12:00 a.m., the operation of the airline Ultra Air in Colombia is suspended, for which reason it will not fly on any of its scheduled routes after March 30.
Meantime, President Gustavo Petro has ordered the use of Colombian Air Force (FAC) planes, including the presidential aircraft, to transport passengers affected by a growing national airline crisis.
Amid contributory factors for this disaster , one could be the back out of JetSMART - Just one week after signing a letter of understanding to explore the possibilities of purchasing Ultra Air, JetSMART announced that it will not proceed with that process.
Ultra Air talked about its achievements,
One year ago, the only regular commercial airline of Colombian capital began operations, with a friendly, cheerful and modern proposal, Ultra Air arrived to serve a segment of the market that previously could not fly due to the high costs of this essential service.
During this time, the airline carried more than 2 million passengers at fair fares; it connected the main cities of the country, gained more than 8% share of the Colombian air market and generated more than 1,200 direct and indirect jobs.
Ultra Air however blames the prevailing conditions,
However, adverse macroeconomic situations for the industry, such as the increase in the cost of fuel and the exchange rate, generated a substantial increase in costs for the airlines, which led them to operate in deficit in recent months.
Additionally, the suspension of operations of the third largest airline in the country 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 It is not usual in this industry.
The press release further claimed,
As a consequence of all of the above, and despite the efforts made by our investors and the requests for support from the National Government through the National Guarantee Fund.
Ultra Air is unable to continue operating and offers excuses to employees, customers, suppliers, and other interest groups that are affected by this situation and reiterates its commitment to work until the last moment to minimize the impact on the people who trusted us. this project.
However, they have apologized to their customers,
We apologize to our travelers for any inconvenience that may arise from this decision, which, as we said before, we deeply regret. To make your requests you can write to servicioalcliente@ultraair.com or through the following link www.ultraair.com We will be attentive to solve this impasse in your travel projects.
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