In order to prevent the spread of covid-19, all international flights have been suspended since March 22.
Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo reported through his social networks that "... As of Sunday, March 22nd at 11:59 pm (04H00 GMT on Monday), arrivals and departures of all international flights to our country will be suspended for a period of 30 days."
The Guatemalan government signed an agreement so that after a mission from the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency conducts an audit, a roadmap will be drawn up for the Central American country to be certified as a category 1.
The plans are for the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) to evaluate the country's legislation, regulation, organization, personnel training, guides and manuals, certification and licensing, surveillance and sanctions, and aviation environment. After this inspection, a proposal will be formulated for the accreditation of Guatemala.
On January 24, the bilateral agreement known as "Open Skies" came into force, which considers flights between both countries as domestic.
The agreement reached between the two countries, which aims to promote tourism and investment, was announced by the vice presidents of Guatemala, Guillermo Castillo, and El Salvador, Felix Ulloa.
With the reform approved by Congress, the airlines will avoid paying VAT and income tax twice.
The reforms that will come into effect in January 2021 were approved by Decree 2-2020, which received the endorsement of the Legislative on January 20.
The airline Jet Blue announced that as of June 1, 2020 it will begin operating one direct flight a day between the Guatemalan capital and the U.S. city.
"... JetBlue will offer service to and from Guatemala, with daily non-stop service between Guatemala City's La Aurora International Airport (GUA) and New York (JFK). You can book those flights starting today," the airline said on Jan. 17.
The U.S.-based Frontier Airlines announced that as of April 2020 it will operate new frequencies to the Guatemalan capital from Miami and Los Angeles.
Pressalibre.com review that "... The routes established for Frontier Airlines will be from Ontario Airport (ONT) in Los Angeles, California to Guatemala and from Miami Airport (MIA) to Guatemala."
The Guatemalan Olympic Committee tenders airline tickets for the delegation of the country that will participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Guatemala Government Purchase 11583789:
"The purchase of airline tickets is required for the delegation that will participate from July 24 to August 9, 2020. Air transport will be Guatemala/Sapporo, Japan/Guatemala and Guatemala/Tokyo, Japan/Guatemala.
From December 1, 2019, Mundo Maya Volando will begin operating flights between the country's capital and the cities of Quetzaltenango and Huehuetenango.
According to the schedules announced by the airline, flights between the three cities of the country will be available seven days a week and will be operated on three aircraft.
Juan Pablo Nieto, deputy director general of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (Inguat), told Prensalibre.com that "... the increase in the number of seats and itineraries to these two destinations requires investment by businessmen and boost the economy and tourism in these departments. Only in the Guatemala route to Huehuetenango the company registered a growth in terms of number of people above 500% and 300% in relation to the number of flights, i.e. that the business of air transport on that route is highly profitable and now with the combination surely there will be new opportunities and hopefully grow the numbers of flights."
In Guatemala, Congress is discussing a bill that seeks to increase the arrival of flights to the country through tax incentives for airlines, which would be coupled with the elimination of improper tax charges.
On August 14, 2019, the President of the Legislative Branch, Álvaro Arzú Escobar, presented to Congress initiative 5585, which has the support of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) and the Guatemalan Association of Air Lines (AGLA). See full bill.
The airline filed a demand arguing that the entity owes it payments for advertising services provided in 2018.
The Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT) and the company Wamos Air, signed a cooperation agreement to promote the country as a tourist destination during 2017, which was extended to 2018.
Juan Antonio Tarjuelo, representative of the press office of Wamos Air, assured Prensalibre.com that "...
The Guatemalan government endorsed the modernization of La Aurora International Airport, which costs about $117 million, through a public-private partnership.
After the consulting firm Deloitte Tetra Tech was hired to prepare feasibility studies, with the aim of establishing contract models that could be applied to modernize the Guatemalan air terminal, it was recommended that a public-private partnership (PPP) is the most efficient way.
Aeroman opened in El Salvador its sixth hangar, which has an area of two thousand square meters and capacity to maintain 14 narrow cabin aircraft simultaneously.
The new hangar, which began construction in March 2018 and whose investment in infrastructure amounted to $20 million, is located on land adjacent to the Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport.
The Ministry of Education of Guatemala tenders the air transport service for school sports delegations, which will participate in different international sports activities.
Guatemala Government Purchase 10477233:
"The round trip air transportation services are required for the School Sports Delegation of Guatemala, which will participate in the "Central American Student Sports Games of CODICADER Primary Level, 2019 Inclusive", to be held in the City of San José, Costa Rica, from October 15 to 21, 2019 and for the games evaluation meeting, from October 21 to 24, 2019.
The airline completed the sale of its shareholding in the Central American companies Sansa and La Costeña, which operate domestic flights in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, respectively.
The completion took place on May 31, 2019 and is an improvement of the share purchase agreement signed on April 22 between the parties, reported Avianca in a statement.