Colombian airline Avianca has added two new routes at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, boosting ties between the country and South Florida.
The added service will also give more business to FLL at a time when it’s still recovering from the demise of Spirit Airlines. The former Broward-based low-cost carrier was the airport’s biggest source of passengers on an annual basis until it shut down on May 2.
Avianca’s two daily routes, which began July 15, operate between FLL and Barranquilla and FLL and Cali, the airline told the Miami Herald.
These additions come on the heels of the carrier increasing service to Colombia’s capital. On June 1, it added a second daily flight between FLL and Bogotá. Avianca also flies from FLL to Medellín.
The new flights reflect “the airline’s long-term investment in the South Florida market,” it said in a statement.
“Fort Lauderdale is a strategic gateway within Avianca’s U.S. network, and these new routes directly respond to the growing demand for convenient, point-to-point travel between South Florida and Colombia,” Rolando Damas, Avianca’s Sales Director for North America, said in the statement.
He called the new service to Barranquilla and Cali “a milestone in Avianca’s continued growth at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.”
Avianca now operates more than 400 weekly flights from 14 U.S. cities.
Other airlines have been looking to step into Spirit’s void at FLL.
Breeze Airways has expanded service and JetBlue has made a big push, adding dozens of flights. It operates more than 125 daily operations out of FLL, mostly domestic. But this year, it will also add non-stop service to Cali and Barranquilla.
Miami Herald
Vinod Sreeharsha covers tourism trends in South Florida for the Miami Herald.