Brazilian airline Gol resumes operations in Bolivia and Paraguay

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Gol Linhas Aéreas is resuming operations -frequency and schedules- to Asunción in Paraguay and Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia. Meanwhile, the state-owned Boliviana de Aviación (BOA) states that it evaluates different markets to offer new options and important alliances with airlines worldwide.

A note reproduced by Expreso.info mentions that on April 9, the Brazilian airline Gol will return to the Paraguayan capital with three direct weekly flights from the airport of Guarulhos in São Paulo State. On May 5, it is the turn of Santa Cruz de la Sierra to receive flights departing from Guarulhos, non-stop, with four weekly frequencies.

It details that as of August, there will be an increase in the number of flights to both international destinations, always non-stop. According to Gol, this is a time of gradual resumption of international flights due to the considerable progress of vaccination in Brazil and around the world and improved conditions in the countries where it operates.

According to Gol’s Strategic Planning Manager, Bruno Balan, flights were suspended during the critical period of the pandemic and now reconnect Brazil with Paraguay and Bolivia. “Starting in April and May, Brazilians frequenting these routes, whether for corporate purposes or leisure travel and to visit family and friends, can use Gol frequencies,” he said.

For official commercial aviation sources, the information generated by Gol is an important signal for the aeronautical sector and those activities directly related to it. They indicate that air transport is working to resume its operations according to the reactivation measures gradually adopted by the origin and destination of air operations. “The state support is important to the projects initiated by the air transport and the tourism sector,” they remarked.

From the Paraguayan airline Paranair, which also operates in the Bolivian commercial aviation market, the commercial manager Alejandra Ayala said that Santa Cruz is a strategic destination part of the company’s route network. “We are interested in maintaining and strengthening it,” she said.

She let it be known that they are pleased with the performance achieved since the launch – in October 2021 – and hope to continue this way to increase more frequencies.

PERFORMANCE OF THE STATE-OWNED COMPANY

Regarding the next destinations that Bolivia’s state-owned BoA plans to include in its business portfolio, General Manager Ronald Casso informed that in February, a new international destination was inaugurated, operating the Jorge Chávez airport in Lima (Peru), for the connection of Bolivians with this HUB, cataloged as one of the most important in South America.

He informed that he is evaluating markets to offer new options and important alliances with airlines on an international scale.

Regarding the resumption of Gol flights from Brazil to Bolivia and vice versa, Casso said that BoA would continue with the same enthusiasm to serve this market, regardless of the alternatives.

“BoA was and is the main air operator in passenger transportation to and from São Paulo, providing users with the possibility of connecting the entire country with this destination,” noted Casso.

BRIDGE FOR TOURIST ARRIVALS

For the tourism sector, in the opinion of the Bolivian Association of Incoming Tour Operators (Abatur) president Jacqueline Rivero, the airlines must return to operate in Bolivia. “They are a way for tourism to continue growing and for the economic reactivation of the sector,” she noted.

She remarked that Gol airline is a bridge for the arrival of foreigners to the country and facilitates travel for foreigners and Bolivians, given Bolivia’s location to serve as an air bridge to many neighboring countries.