FROM THIS WEEK, THREE NEW AVIANCA ROUTES CONNECT QUITO AND GUAYAQUIL WITH THE COFFEE COUNTRY OF COLOMBIA

FROM THIS WEEK, THREE NEW AVIANCA ROUTES CONNECT QUITO AND GUAYAQUIL WITH THE COFFEE COUNTRY OF COLOMBIA.

Yesterday flights began on the Quito-Medellin route and on Tuesday, March 28, operations from Guayaquil to Medellin and Cartagena begin.

The airline has the most important flight offer between Ecuador and Colombia adding a total of 56 weekly flights connecting Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena; which means more than 10,000 seats available for Ecuadorian passengers.

The connectivity network that Avianca offers from Ecuador is now 11 international destinations with what consolidates it as the main air operator in the country.

With more than 150 passengers, at 17:00 yesterday took off from Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito flight AV8386 with which Avianca inaugurated the Quito-Medellin route, thus expanding the options of destinations to which passengers can enter Colombia directly. This route will operate 4 times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays on Airbus A320 aircraft, with itineraries that are suitable for tourism or business trips.

In addition, next Tuesday 28, Avianca will also start its flights on the Guayaquil-Medellin and Guayaquil-Cartagena routes, which has an occupancy greater than 90% and with which the airline will add a total of 11 non-stop routes and an operation of 56 weekly flights from Ecuador to Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena, according to the following table:

Origin	Destiny	Weekly flights

Cartagena 	Guayaquil 	3

Medellin	Guayaquil 	3

Quito 				4

Bogota	Quito			27

Guayaquil			19

In the framework of the inauguration ceremony of the Quito-Medellin route, Maria Beatriz Gonzalez, Commercial Manager of Avianca said that 'with the start of these routes we continue working on our commitment to connect Ecuador with the main markets and strategic destinations directly, increasingly facilitating travel and connectivity for hundreds of families traveling for tourism and business. We are an important articulator of tourism and the country's economy.' And he added that 'the opening of these routes are the result of an articulated work with authorities and concessionaires to offer greater connectivity to and from Ecuador,' Gonzalez said.

For his part, Dario Herrera, Minister of Transport and Public Works said that, 'our goal is to increase new frequencies and exceed the number of operations we had before the pandemic. To meet this objective, the Government of Ecuador maintains a policy of open skies, an example of this are direct flights to Cartagena and Medellin. With these new destinations we provide better options to travelers, attract international investment and benefit the economic development of our country.'

In this regard, the Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsen, recalled that 'one of the commitments at the beginning of the government of President Guillermo Lasso was the improvement of connectivity, which is being fulfilled by providing facilities for more airlines to increase their routes and frequencies, as is the case of Avianca that on this occasion brings travelers from Colombia closer to Ecuador. This fills us with joy as we continue to connect our country with the world and we will continue to receive more tourists who with their visits support the revitalization of the country's economy, 'he said.

For Carmen Caballero, President of ProColombia, 'it is great news that Avianca continues to connect Colombia with Ecuador, a very important market for the promotion of our country. Thanks to this new air connection we are achieving our purpose of increasing international connectivity to increase the flow of travelers and, in addition, facilitate business between both countries. From the last week of March we hope that hundreds of Ecuadorians will have the opportunity to know our wide sustainable tourism offer and in harmony with life.'

Ramon Miro, President of Quiport highlights that 'through this flight between Quito and Medellin we strengthen the historical, cultural and economic ties between Colombia and Ecuador. Avianca has been able to properly read the potential of this new route and on our side, Quiport and the Municipality of Quito continue to support Avianca so that the growth of its operations at the Mariscal Sucre airport is successful. We love to see how Avianca's presence is growing at our airport. We thank them for their trust and for betting on us.'

With the opening of these routes, Avianca continues to consolidate itself as the airline with the most destinations and seats available that connects directly to Latin America, increasingly strong and with a more affordable price offer for everyone to fly on a network of 132 routes with more than 3800 weekly flights and an offer of almost 650,000 seats a week.