By Juan Carlos Salazar, Director General of Civil Aviation de Colombia.   The impact of the fall in demand generated by COVID-19, added to the air restrictions and quarantines with mobility restriction in Colombia observed as of March 2020, evidenced a sharp drop in the operational figures of passenger movement and cargo. The above, dramatically changed the growth trend that was seen in previous decades; The historical evolution of traffic and the sustained growth trend of the last several years, which in 2019 made it possible to move more than 41.2 million passengers through the different airports in Colombia, with a growth above 9%.   Passenger Movement   When making an analysis of the monthly passenger movement , it is [...]

By Jose Ricardo Botelho, Executive Director and CEO of ALTA   We have reached one and a half months of the long-awaited 2021. A year full of hopes with the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccines global distribution and prospects of recovering step by step in-person activities after a 2020 with human and economic losses, as well as a heavily impacted aviation industry.   According to ICAO data, in 2020 there was a 50% overall reduction in seats offered by airlines around the world vs. 2019, and a 60% reduction in passenger traffic with 2.69 billion fewer passengers from 2019.   In our region, we estimate a 59.2% reduction in passenger traffic vs. 2019, totaling 177.3 million passengers carried in the [...]

By Marcel Riwalsky   Almost two years ago, I took the opportunity to speak about the topic of aviation bringing peace. I used the phrase 'bringing peace' because aviation unites people and nations, promoting economic growth and thus creating prosperity even in more remote regions. Bonds are formed between countries, fomenting the exchange of ideas and creating business opportunities. People that know and understand each other, and who travel to each other's countries, will be less vulnerable to conflict.   Now, a little later, we are facing a time with less aviation – at least in the short term. And the reason is an illness, a virus, or rather the speed of its spread – although due to highly efficient [...]