“The operation of the Ultra Air airline in Colombia is suspended, for which reason it will not fly on any of its scheduled routes as of March 30,” said a statement from the airline.
“Adverse macroeconomic situations for the industry, such as the increase in the cost of fuel and the exchange rate, generated a substantial increase in costs for the airlines, which led to operating at a deficit in recent months,” the company explained when announcing that it was is unable to continue operating.
Chile-based low-cost airline JetSMART announced a week ago that it has dropped its interest in buying Ultra Air and has terminated the process.
The Minister of Transportation, Guillermo Reyes, said that the Civil Aeronautics will promote a plan for other airlines to mobilize passengers who planned to travel with Ultra Air.
“Several attempts were made to capitalize, to sell the airline, none of them prospered. An extraordinary meeting was held for additional capitalization, unfortunately the board of directors made the decision to deny it,” Reyes said in a video posted on Twitter.
More than 48 million people traveled by air in Colombia in 2022, a record number that represented an increase of 57.1% compared to the immediately previous year.