Viva Aerobus began operations at José María Córdova International Airport (MDE), serving Medellín, which will connect to Mexico City (MEX) and Cancún (CUN).
Flight VB 280 with an occupancy factor of 100%, or 186 passengers, landed at 10:57 (Colombian local time) on Friday, April 8 in an Airbus A320neo from the Mexican capital. Later, at 19:35, flight VB 442 from Cancun landed.
«The arrival of Viva Aerobus from Cancun and Mexico City to Medellin represents a great opportunity to attract international travelers to our destinations. For the Holy Week season, we expect the arrival of more than 31,800 foreign passengers to Colombia, with Mexico being the country with the second-highest number of air bookings,» Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia.
Viva Aerobus first landed in South America in August 2021 and chose its first destination in Colombia. The route between Mexico City (MEX) and Bogota (BOG) was the company’s first between the two nations and in December the airline added a new link from Cancun (CUN) to the Colombian capital.
«Mexico represents the second most important market in terms of non-resident visitor arrivals to Medellin; in 2021, 9,500 visitors were received from this country. It is consolidating as a very attractive market for both outbound and inbound tourism and that is why we are pleased that a new airline like Viva Aerobus is starting operations from JMC airport,» said Ledys López Zapata, Medellín’s undersecretary of tourism.
Schedules and Frequencies
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| From | Departure | To | Arrival | Frequency |
| México City (MEX) | 06:20 AM | Medellín/Rionegro (MDE) | 10:40 AM | Daily |
| Medellín/Rionegro (MDE) | 11:40 AM | México City (MEX) | 04:10 PM | TUE – THU – SAT – SUN |
| Medellín/Rionegro (MDE) | 08:35 PM | México City (MEX) | 01:05 AM | MON – WED – FRI |
| Cancún (CUN) | 11:40 AM | Medellín/Rionegro (MDE) | 03:15 PM | MON – WED – FRI |
| Medellín/Rionegro (MDE) | 4:25 PM | Cancún (CUN) | 7:35 PM. | MON – WED – FRI |
The links to Cancun are currently served by Avianca, VIVA and Wingo; which together with Viva Aerobus will offer 42 weekly flights and 7,592 seats per week.
On the other hand, to Mexico City Viva Aerobus will have to compete against Aeromexico, Avianca and VIVA. Together, the four companies will offer 54 flights per week, giving them 9,344 seats per week.
Viva Aerobus and its expansion between Mexico and Colombia
The expansion of Viva Aerobus responds to a growing demand between both countries, which has led three Mexican and three Colombian companies to compete for the main destinations.
See also: ProColombia and Viva Aerobus celebrate the launch of Mexico City-Bogota route
In 2021, Mexico ranked third among countries with the highest number of non-resident foreign visitors to Colombia, behind only the United States and Venezuela, having sent more than 81 thousand travelers, according to information provided by the Colombian tourism agency.
In October 2021, low-cost airlines Viva and Viva Aerobus announced their interline agreement to provide more flight options to their customers in Mexico, Colombia and Peru.
See also: VIVA and Viva Aerobus announce the first agreement between low-cost airlines
Thanks to the agreement, travelers will be able to purchase tickets to fly on any of the routes offered between both countries from the website or applications of both airlines, as well as to choose the routes with either of the two companies, that is to say, to make their outbound trip through Viva Air and their return trip through Viva Aerobus, or vice versa.
The Medellín/Rionegro airport is VIVA’s main base, allowing Viva Aerobus to connect to a wide range of domestic connections and to Buenos Aires (Argentina), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Lima (Peru).
