The Civil Aeronautics of Colombia published its latest financial report on the airlines operating in the country, revealing a significant increase in losses during 2024. According to the report, the companies recorded a negative balance of $411,089 million, 55.4% more than in the same period of 2023, when losses reached $264,419 million. Although revenues grew slightly, it was not enough to offset the increase in operating costs.
In terms of revenue, airlines reported sales of $8.19 billion, a figure very similar to that obtained in 2023, which was $8.2 billion. This represents a marginal variation of -0.12%, indicating that airlines have not achieved significant growth in revenue, while costs and expenses have increased considerably, affecting their margins.
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The Aerocivil report indicates that airline operational costs reached $1.67 trillion and expenses totaled $6.35 trillion in 2024. In comparison, these figures were $41,810 million and $7.87 trillion, respectively, in 2023, which which shows a variation of 1.39%. These increases are attributed to macroeconomic factors that have influenced the margins of airline companies, affecting their profitability.
Avianca, the airline with the largest market share, reported operating income of $6.23 billion in 2024, 4.4% less than the $6.52 billion recorded in 2023. Despite the reduction in its operating expenses by 4 .76%, the company’s losses increased by 30.3%, reaching $244,346 million. Other airlines such as Latam and Aerorepública (Copa) also presented negative results, with increases in their losses and adjustments in their income and expenses.
The outlook for the airline sector in Colombia continues to be complicated, and although some airlines have managed to stabilize certain costs, such as fuel, income is still insufficient to achieve profitability. The Aerocivil report shows that, unless measures are implemented to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency, airlines will continue to face significant challenges in their financial performance.
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