Colombia’s government lifted a ban on air travel, flights are resuming slowly and not without controversy

According to civil aviation authority Aerocivil, it has been able to reestablish some flights to European cities like London, Madrid and Istanbul since the Health Ministry lifted a ban on international air travel in mid-September.

Flights to Newark, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in the US before the end eof the month, according to Aerocivil.

Additionally, Aerocivil said in a press release that it has made agreements with 69 countries to resume flights.

The reopening of flights is not without controversy though.

The Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that it will lift the requisite obliging all incoming travelers to undergo a coronavirus test within three days of boarding.

Bogotá Mayor Claudia López said the decision to skip testing created an “unnecessary risk” for the capital, which has registered approximately a third of all Colombia’s coronavirus infections.

“You don’t reactive air transport and tourism by indiscriminately bringing in symptomatic and infected passengers,” Lopez said on Twitter.

Health Ministry official Julian Fernandez told newspaper El Tiempo, however, that upheld “pre-flight requirements are, in the first instance, no fever or respiratory symptoms associated with covid-19. Also, travelers who have not previously installed the Check- Mig application will not be allowed to board.”

Aerocivil director Juan Carlos Salazar told RCN Radio in early October that it had begun investigations into airliners Avianca, Viva Air Peru and Wingo for allegedly failing to comply with compulsory health protocols on flights.

“The investigation we’re conducting will allow us to draw conclusions about whether or not there have been violations,” Salazar said more than a month ago after which no conclusions were reported.