Bogotá
consulting with the government over the need to work on a new long-term development strategy for El Dorado.
Improved slot management Opain also wants the Colombian government to introduce an IATA- approved Level 2 airport slot management system at El Dorado to ensure the airport is used throughout the day and not only during busy peak periods.
“If the existing system is changed, we could comfortably handle many more fl ights and enjoy 10% per annum traffi c growth for the foreseeable future,” admits Etzold. “This is why the introduction of a slot system must be an absolute priority in our talks with the civil aviation authority. Next on the agenda is the need to look to the future. What development plans does the newly elected government have for the next 20 years?” Colombia offi cially has 36 domestic and 10 international airports, of which Bogotá– El Dorado is by far the biggest, accounting for around 48% of all passengers and 80% of the cargo traffi c.
In terms of numbers, El Dorado handled a record 14.9 million passengers and a healthy 450,000 tonnes of cargo in 2009.
With traffi c showing no sign of slowing down in 2010, speaking at the end of the year, Etzold forecast that up to 17 million passengers and 480,000 tonnes of freight will pass through the gateway by year-end.
This makes Bogotá the largest cargo gateway in Latin America and the second busiest passenger airport after Mexico City–Benito Juarez International Airport.
Etzold is delighted with the continued upturn in passenger throughput – traffi c increased 10% in 2009 and has soared nearly 30% since 2006 – and attributes the rise to the expansion plans of its airlines.
Avianca Colombian national fl ag carrier Avianca, on the verge of bankruptcy before being saved by Brazilian entrepreneur German Efromovich six years ago, is now regarded as one of the most successful airlines in Latin America with a fl eet of over 50 aircraft.
A network of 35 destinations across Colombia, the Americas and Europe from Bogotá ensures that Avianca currently handles 58% of all the gateway’s passengers.
DID YOU KNOW? • Colombia has more than 45 million people
• It is the second most populous country in South America, after Brazil
• Colombia is a major trading point for goods travelling between the Americas
• Bogotá is the biggest cargo gateway in Latin America
• Bogotá–El Dorado International Airport is the second busiest passenger airport in Latin America, after Mexico City–Benito Juarez International Airport
• Aires was acquired by LAN in October 2010
• Copa acquired Aero Republica in 2005 and rebranded it Copa Airlines Colombia in 2010
Impending Star Alliance membership and a multi-million dollar order for 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which it has already hinted that it might use to launch fl ights to Asia, provides evidence of its ambitions.
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