Massive Colombia earthquake disrupts flights; major airports sustain damage
Social media videos showed damaged ceilings and broken windows at an airport in Pereira. A massive earthquake that hit Colombia on 10 August impacted several major airports in the region, causing flight cancellations. Videos on social media show major damage at Matecana airport in Pereira, near the earthquake's epicentre. Large portions of the airport's ceiling and windows appeared to have broken, leaving debris strewn across the terminal interior. The airport sees about two-dozen flights per day, most of which are cancelled into Tuesday and beyond, FlightRadar24 data show. Operations were also suspended at airports in Manizales, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura, Colombia's aviation authority said Monday, pending inspections of facilities and control towers for damage. Some had begun to reopen by Tuesday morning, local time. Seventy-eight flights were cancelled at El Dorado airport in Bogota on Monday, according to FlightAware, and another 312 were delayed. Alfonso Bonilla Aragon airport in Cali reopened late Monday local time after a power outage, authorities say, which resulted in about 40 flights being cancelled. Jose Maria Cordova airport in Medellin says it is operating normally on Tuesday after being evacuated on Monday. Sixteen flights were cancelled into and out of the airport on Monday. In Popayan, south of the most impacted area, flights at Guillermo León Valencia airport were restricted due to emissions from the Purace volcano, adding further complication to the nation's airspace. The 7.4-magnitude quake struck about 200 miles west of the country's capital of Bogota. More than 180 people had been confirmed dead by Colombian authorities in their latest update Tuesday morning local time, as reported by local paper El Tiempo . Avianca says passengers with tickets for flights on Monday could reschedule for up to 15 days with no penalties. "We continue to monitor the evolving situation and traveller demand to adjust our operations and implemented measures according to the country’s connectivity needs," says Avianca.
