Government of Colombia takes action against Viva after «not guaranteeing service provision»

The Transport Superintendence of Colombia said yesterday that it had launched an investigation and issued a statement of charges against low-cost carrier Viva «for allegedly failing to guarantee the provision of transport services». Late on 27 February, the airline suddenly ceased operations.

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According to Viva, the decision was taken as a result of «delays in making a decision» by Aerocivil, after the aviation authority recognised the position of Aerolíneas Argentinas, LATAM Colombia, JetSMART, Ultra Air and Wingo as «interested third parties» in the integration process of Avianca and Viva. The low-cost carrier argues that the decision will generate «further delays» to the resolution of the procedure.

Since then, thousands of passengers have been affected by the suspension of flights. At Viva’s main hubs, customers were stranded waiting for a solution.

Despite this, the Colombian authorities stated from the outset that they would make no concessions to the timing of the procedure and made it clear that they would not give in to pressure for an early resolution. On the other hand, they urged Viva to respond to affected passengers.

«The Superintendence of Transport found merit to open administrative investigation and formulation of charges based, among other things, that the airline in question did not accompany the suspension with the provision of complete, truthful, timely and accurate information to each of the users», the government agency explained in a press release issued yesterday. The measure was made effective through resolution number 637.

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#Declaraciones | El @MinistroReyes y el director de la @AerocivilCol, enumeraron las medidas adoptadas a causa de la crisis generada por la aerolínea Viva Air.
Hilo ? pic.twitter.com/EpuvzrjMc7

— MinTransporte (@MinTransporteCo) March 1, 2023

A plan of attention to users

As part of its action against Viva, the Transport Superintendency urged it to develop a plan of attention to users «in order to address the situation presented by this decision». The agency reported that it will also request the «periodic remission» of complaints filed by users, «the issuance of an official statement containing the channels of attention» and the implementation of «compensatory measures».

«The administrative act, adopted by the Superintendence of Transport, is based on the alleged harm caused to air transport users by not being able to travel to their destinations, having already purchased their tickets and confirmed their reservations», the entity remarked.

See also: Colombia: Authorities don’t cede to Viva – Avianca merger pressure and demand answers for passengers