AirInsight

Airlines Battle Over Slot Allocation at Bogota’s Airport

Bogotá’s El Dorado airport handled a record 45.8 million passengers in 2025, prompting Colombia’s Aerocivil to propose a slot‑reallocation plan aimed at reducing Avianca’s dominance and opening capacity to new entrants. The draft reform, framed as a democratization of a public asset, conflicts with the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines that govern congested hubs worldwide. Avianca, holding roughly 51 % of prime‑time slots, argues that infrastructure bottlenecks—not slot rules—must be addressed first. JetSMART backs a more fluid allocation system, citing Brazil’s Congonhas model, while all carriers agree that runway upgrades are essential before any regulatory changes.