Fort Lauderdale and Miami will be the first international routes to reopen once the airports resume regular passenger flights in June, which were suspended for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The American Spirit has confirmed that it returns to Guayaquil on June 3. Ángel Córdova, manager of Tagsa, the airport’s concessionaire, indicated that the company will start three weekly flights to Fort Lauderdale, in the state of Florida.
A day later, American Airlines will resume its frequencies in Quito and Guayaquil.
Edwin Rincón, sales manager of the airline in Ecuador, indicated that they will return from June 4 and will do so with the destination of Miami.
They will start with five weekly frequencies between Miami and Guayaquil and the same number on the Miami-Quito route.
The resumption of international flights under a “new normal” will be done with more rigorous protocols that passengers must comply with, such as the mandatory use of masks, respecting physical distance, passing through temperature controls and disinfection in terminals.
In addition, travelers arriving in the country must come with an endorsement that certifies that they were subjected to COVID-19 tests. Upon arrival they will undergo other rapid tests: if it is negative, it goes home; if she tests positive, she goes to the hotel for mandatory preventive isolation for fourteen days and must pay all her expenses.
In the case of Guayaquil, foreigners who arrive must comply with the isolation in a hotel, whether they give a positive or negative test.
In addition to American and Spirit, JetBlue will rejoin Guayaquil with Fort Lauderdale starting June 11, with three frequencies a week.
Eastern studies the possibility of returning with its flights on the Guayaquil-New York route from the fortnight of June.
Copa just on June 26 plans to resume international flights from Panama.
Domestic flights
With a severe blow to their finances and reduced by the coronavirus pandemic, most of the airlines that operate in the Ecuadorian domestic market will return to operate from June 15.
The return will begin with the operation of few routes in the national market, a niche that loses Tame, which handled 33% of the quota.
The airline entered into a liquidation process and although it could operate in these 60 days, it stopped selling tickets. And the authorities analyze making only punctual flights, which do not leave more losses.
Latam and Avianca, who had plans to fly from the 1st, postponed that for the fortnight because national flights in Guayaquil were only allowed on that date.
The local subsidiaries of these multinationals have not escaped this crisis. Both Avianca Ecuador and Latam Ecuador are undergoing reorganization processes after their parents filed for Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy law. USA
Between these airlines and AeroRegional, which also competes in the domestic niche, it is estimated that there will be a redistribution of the market.
The losses
Marco Subía, president of the Association of Airline Representatives in Ecuador, estimates that the losses in these months of cessation of commercial flights can be between 200 and 300 million dollars.
The crisis also affected job positions. With the Tame liquidation and the Latam cuts, it is estimated that more than 1,000 people will lose their jobs.
The sector expects a slow recovery. The América Corporation, which manages the Baltra and Guayaquil airports, has projected that only by 2025 will the levels reached in 2019 be reached.
Santiago Becdach, a lawyer specializing in aviation, during a forum held on Thursday on market prospects, pointed out that much will depend on how airlines plan their routes and the line of business.
“You can think that most people will move more out of necessity than pleasure,” said Becdach. (I)
The data
-The Ministry of Transport estimates that the contraction in air transport demand will be 50%
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