Calafia Airlines suspended its flights. Local Mexican media reported rumors about alleged «pending procedures at the Federal Civil Aviation Agency» and that passengers have been going to the offices to get more information. El Debate newspaper indicates that at the Los Mochis branch they assured customers that flights would resume from Sunday.
Sources at Valle del Fuerte International Airport also told Luz Noticias newspaper that they received notice from the airline about the suspension, and that it would be lifted on August 15.
Verónica Medel Arce, director of Tourism of the municipality of Ahome, in Sinaloa, said that Calafia Airlines will continue to operate and that they are on the lookout for the resumption since many passengers were stranded.
Aviacionline have reached out to Calafia but at the original time of this publication, we have not received a response. At 15:20 UTC the airline answered that its flights will resume on Friday 11, and that they have been suspended for «operational reasons».
The airline has also not posted any updates on social media since August 3, but passenger complaints and some comments deletions can be seen.
Calafia Airlines was founded in 1992 as Aero Calafia and is headquartered in Cabo San Lucas, on the Baja California peninsula, serving a key tourist area of the Pacific and northwest Mexico with flights connecting Mazatlán, Tijuana, Loreto, Hermosillo, Culiacán, Ciudad Obregón, Puerto Peñasco, Los Mochis, La Paz, Guadalajara, and Chihuahua.
As can be seen in Cirium, during August Calafia Airlines operates an average of 88 weekly flights offering 3,968 seats. Its fleet consists of an Embraer EMB-120 and four Embraer 145.
The regional aviation market in Mexico had suffered another significant blow earlier this year when Aeromar ceased operations after more than 35 years, leaving many routes without service, although on the other hand, a new company emerged, Aerus, and the government is preparing to revive Mexicana de Aviación.
