Colombia aviation: taxation to hurt national competitive stature

Colombia’s domestic passenger levels fell in 2017, driven in part by a pilot strike at the country’s largest airline Avianca. But the country has posted impressive growth in its domestic air travel market during the past seven years, with passenger levels expanding by more than 60% from 2011 to 2017.  The country’s aviation sector has changed during the past couple of years as LATAM Airlines Colombia has debuted a new pricing structure and Copa Colombia has transitioned to a low-cost airline, Wingo. Those changes have occurred as Latin America’s airlines are adapting to low-cost airline growth in the region.  There’s still much runway for passenger stimulation in Colombia’s domestic and international markets, but similar to many countries in Latin America, Colombia could risk jeopardising air passenger growth through a passenger fee proposed by Bogotá’s mayor, which would levy a new tax on passengers to fund investments in road infrastructure.