Passengers Stranded as Avianca Cancels Hundreds of Flights

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Over fifteen hundred flights operated by Avianca have been cancelled until Sunday, April 28th throughout Brazil, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and searching for other alternatives.

“My flight was on the list put on the web of cancelled flights,” Roberto Vieira told the Rio Times in São Paulo’s domestic airport, Congonhas on Wednesday. “I am trying to see if I can get a seat on another airline, or if they (Avianca) can send me to Guarulhos (São Paulo’s international airport). I need to get home.”

Vieira, like many others, sought the help of Procon (consumer defense entity) agents stationed at the airport to find out about his rights.

Earlier this week, Avianca announced it was cancelling several of its flights. The company was forced to return most of its aircrafts due to non-payment, leaving very few routes unaltered.

“Avianca Brasil informs that due to a possible reduction of its fleet and in order to minimize the impact on its operation and its passengers, it has decided to make occasional cancellations of flights as listed below, which will be updated daily according to any adjustments,” said the company on its website.

But each day the list gets longer and more and more customers find themselves in a position similar to that of Vieira.

“If they knew this was going to occur, why did they keep selling seats to flights they knew they might have to cancel?” questioned Vieira, who said he purchased his Brasilia flight late last week.

According to Procon officials, a customer whose flight has been cancelled has the right to a full refund or Avianca has to find him/her a seat on another flight, even if it’s on another airline. In case the passenger chooses to take another flight, Avianca is responsible for meals and/or hotel accomodations if the new flight is over three hours later than the original ticket.

In a statement, Procon-SP says that it is the passenger, not Avianca, who must choose between reimbursement or re-accommodation on a flight of another company.

The cancellations have put an extra burden on Brazil’s other major airlines, such as Latam, Gol and Azul.

According to Anac (Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency) passenger demand for domestic flights in the country grew by 4.3 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2018.

The number of passengers transported in the domestic market between January through March totaled 24 million, up by approximately one million passengers from January through March of 2018.

Avianca, which is under judicial recovery since December of 2018, registered a 7.5 percent reduction in demand in March, according to the latest Anac report. It is now Brazil’s fourth largest airline with 12.6 percent of market share, behind Gol (34.1 percent), Latam (31.8 percent), and Azul (21.2 percent).