Colombia’s Superintendence of Transport submits Viva to control and requests a corporate reorganisation

Colombia’s Superintendence of Transport has decided to place the low-cost airline Viva, which suddenly ceased operations on 27 February, under control. In addition, the government agency said it is in a «critical economic and administrative situation», and requested a corporate reorganisation.

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Submission to control and corporate reorganisation

Yesterday it officially notified that, by means of Resolution 705 of 3 March 2023, it took the decision to «impose the measure of submission to control» on the company.

This means the obligation to carry out special measures, such as the presentation of a recovery and improvement plan, with the aim of «overcoming the critical situations that gave rise to the imposition of the measure». Among other things, Viva must notify all its customers of the status of their reservations.

«The administrative act, adopted by the Superintendence of Transport, is based on the alleged harm caused to air transport users by not being able to travel to their destinations, having already purchased their tickets and confirmed their reservations», the entity remarked.

On the other hand, the Superintendence of Transport requested the Superintendence of Companies to admit Viva to a process of reorganisation and business recovery.

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See also: Colombia: Authorities don’t cede to Viva – Avianca merger pressure and demand answers for passengers

Improvement plan

As part of its action against Viva, the entity urged it to develop an improvement and customer service plan. The company must re-establish its administrative headquarters and associated services within three days of notification of the administrative act, as well as implement measures to improve the situation of affected passengers.

The entity also requested the «periodic remission» of the complaints filed by users, «the issuance of an official statement containing the channels of attention» and the implementation of «compensatory measures».

In addition, Viva is obliged to submit any statutory reform to the Superintendence of Transport, which will be in charge of authorising it.

One of the main points establishes that the airline must preserve the liability received for the resources collected from the advance sale of tickets and present a report within three days. Subsequently, it must do so on the last working day of each month until the authorities consider that the conditions that gave rise to the situation have been overcome.

The control measures would continue until the crisis generated by the sudden cessation of operations is overcome. If the company does not comply with the orders set out in the resolution, Viva’s directors and administrators could be removed, a situation that could lead to long-term disqualification.

See also: Government of Colombia takes action against Viva after «not guaranteeing service provision»