Airlines ANAC suspends Avianca Brasil operations

The aviation authority decided to suspend all operations due to precautionary reasons. With his measure, all flights are halted until the company proves that it has the operational capacity to keep operations safely.

The decision was based on the information that were provided to the authorities´ safety department. Over recent months, Avianca Brasil struggled with its finances and this stop of operations is expected to create even more uncertainty on how the airline´s future may look.

Until the airline was forced to stop flying, 37 flights have been performed on a daily basis.

In a statement, Avianca wrote: "Avianca Brasil informs that due to the reduction of its fleet, it has become necessary to cancel some of its flights [...]. At the moment, the company works to generate the smallest possible impact and provide the best service in airports that do not have more flights, in order to guarantee the accommodation of the passengers."

Avianca Brasil had discontinued several international flights. Regarding these flights, the airline stated: "Since the end of last year we are reviewing our mesh to adjust it to our current passenger demand. And to consolidate this optimization, some routes have been discontinued. We are working to ensure the sustainability of the business and maintain the excellence of the service, which is in our DNA."

Avianca has been under judicial reorganization since December 2018. Several employees said that they haven’t received wages and last Friday, Avianca Brasil pilots and commissioners stopped their activities over the course of a strike.

The discontinuation of scheduled operations could also mean, that the carrier is losing important slots in Brazil. This however is dependent on how long Avianca Brasil will be grounded. Local media reports suggest, that main Brazilian carriers like LATAM or GOL are keen on taking over potential Avianca slots.

Avianca Brasil is a subsidiary airline from Avianca and operated a fleet of Airbus and Fokker aircraft. The airline flew with 15 Airbus A318s, four A319s, 18 A320s, four A330-300s and nine Fokker 100s. The carrier was initially founded in 1998 as OceanAir and had its operational hub at Brasilia.

Parent company Avianca is a Colombian airline that was founded in 1919. The carrier is member of the Staralliance and operates a fleet of over 100 aircraft. Avianca operates several subsidiary airlines throughout Middle- and South America.