Intercontinental de Aviación S.A. (English; and ''Inter'' for short) was an airline based in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. It operated domestic services and flights to neighboring countries. Its main hub was located at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, with a secondary hub at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

. The airline closed operations in 2005.

History

The airline was founded and started operations on October 16, 1960 as Aeropesca Colombia. The company had several accidents, and was sold to a group of shareholders who changed their name and image to ''Intercontinental de Aviacion'' in 1982. Only one Vickers Viscount and the

Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...

left the company. A

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

and another Vickers Viscount were purchased, and on June 3, 1983, it began operating from Bogotá to the west. In 1986 it changed shareholders, consolidated itself as a developing company and became a competition for Avianca and

SAM Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

. The airline began operating international flights in 1991, and in 1993 more DC-9-15 and De Havilland DHC-8 were acquired. The Executive Class and VIP lounges began to be offered in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

and

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

. In October 2000, four

Beechcraft 1900D The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With c ...

s were purchased, as well as two Boeing 737-300s, both types however were never operated. Following the crash of West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 in Venezuela, the

Colombian Civil Aviation Authority The Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia ( es, Unidad Administrativa Especial de Aeronáutica Civil, also known as ''Aeronáutica Civil'', ''Aerocivil'' or UAEAC) is a government agency of the Colombian Ministry of Transport. It is the agency in ...

required that all airlines undergo a special inspection of its maintenance facilities and aircraft. The airline was forced to cease operations in September 2005 as it did not pass these inspections.

Destinations

National

* Arauca ( Santiago Pérez Quiroz Airport) *

( Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport) *

( El Dorado International Airport) Hub * Bucaramanga ( Palonegro International Airport) *

( Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport) Hub * Cartagena ( Rafael Núñez International Airport) * Corozal ( Las Brujas Airport) * Cúcuta ( Camilo Daza International Airport) * Florencia ( Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport) * Ipiales ( San Luis Airport) * Maicao ( Jorge Isaacs Airport) *

( Olaya Herrera Airport) *

( José María Córdova International Airport) * Neiva ( Benito Salas Airport) * Pasto (

Antonio Nariño Airport Antonio Nariño Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Antonio Nariño, ) is an airport located in the town of Chachagüí and which serves the city of Pasto in the Nariño Department of Colombia. The airport is north of Pasto. It handles only domestic fligh ...

) *

Pereira Pereira (Portuguese and Galician for "pear tree") may refer to: People * Pereira (surname) Places *Brazil **Pereira (Bahia) (est. 1534) in the present-day Barra neighborhood of Salvador in Bahia **Pereira Barreto, municipality in São Paulo **Pe ...

( Matecaña International Airport) * Popayán (

Guillermo León Valencia Airport Guillermo León Valencia Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Guillermo León Valencia) is an airport serving Popayán, the capital city of the Cauca Department in Colombia. It took the name of former President of Colombia Guillermo León Valencia, Guillermo ...

) * Riohacha ( Almirante Padilla Airport) * San Andrés ( Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport) * Tumaco ( La Florida Airport) * Valledupar ( Alfonso López Pumarejo Airport)

International

Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

( José Martí International Airport) * Esmeraldas ( Colonel Carlos Concha Torres Airport) * Tulcán ( Teniente Coronel Luis A. Mantilla International Airport) * Panama City ( Tocumen International Airport) *

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

( La Chinita International Airport) *

San Antonio del Táchira San Antonio del Táchira is a city in the Venezuelan Andean state of Táchira. The busy highway across the Simón Bolívar International Bridge linking the cities of Cúcuta, Colombia, and San Cristóbal, Venezuela, passes through San Antonio d ...

( Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport) * Valencia (

Arturo Michelena International Airport Arturo Michelena International Airport is an airport serving the city of Valencia in Venezuela. The airport was named after artist Arturo Michelena, who was born in Valencia. It is a hub for Turpial Airlines and a secondary hub for Avior Airline ...

)

Fleet

Aeropesca and Inter consisted of the following fleet: *4

(not operated) *1

Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter f ...

*2 Boeing 737-300 (not operated) *2 Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 *1 Consolidated PBY Catalina *8

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

(not operated) *3 Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon *1

Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era. Design and development Sales of the 10–14 passenger Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, which first flew in 1937, had proved disappointing, despite the air ...

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. Afte ...

*12

*1 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 (Impounded) *3 Vickers Viscount

Accidents and incidents

*On November 4, 1965, a Consolidated PBY Catalina (registered HK-811) went missing during a domestic flight. Four of the six occupants on board were discovered 9 days later near the Peruvian border. *On July 11, 1966, a

(registration HK-527) went missing over mountainous terrain during a flight from

to Buenos Aires. The aircraft was carrying eight bulls for an exhibition in Buenos Aires. All 8 occupant on board were killed. *On January 5, 1974, a

(registered HK-1146) had a landing gear failure during takeoff at

. The aircraft returned to the airport and tried to land, however the brakes were ineffective, causing it overshoot the runway and coming to rest in a drainage ditch. All 5 occupants on board survived. *On January 21, 1974, a Vickers Viscount was hijacked and diverted to

. *On August 14, 1978, a

(registration HK-1350) flying in worsening weather conditions drifted off course during a flight from Bogotá to Tame and crashed into Mount Paramo de Laura near Tota, Colombia, killing all 18 people in board. Certified to carry only six passengers, it had 15 passengers on board at the time of the crash. *On August 26, 1981, Aeropesca Colombia Flight 221, a Vickers Viscount (registered HK-1320), flew into

Mount Santa Elena Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

killing all 50 people on board. *On March 26, 1982, a Vickers Viscount (registered HK-2382) flew into a mountain near Queate while on a flight from La Vanguardia Airport to El Dorado International Airport, killing all 21 people on board. *On March 31, 1991, a Vickers Viscount (registered HK-1708) was damaged beyond economic repair while on a flight from El Dorado International Airport to Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport. Both artificial horizons failed in turbulence at . Control of the aircraft was regained at . and a successful emergency landing was made at Olaya Herrera Airport,

. The lower main spar was found to have cracked. The aircraft had previously suffered a gear collapse on February 14, 1988. *On January 11, 1995,

Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256 Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256 (RS256/ICT256) was a scheduled flight from El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá, on a service to Rafael Núñez International Airport, Cartagena, and San Andrés. On 11 January 1995, the McDonnell Do ...

, a

(registered HK-3839X), crashed on approach near

María La Baja María La Baja is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia. History María La Baja was founded by Alonso de Heredia (brother of Pedro de Heredia) on December 8, 1535. Geography and climate The municipality of ...

. The accident killed 52 passengers and crew; one person survived the crash. *On September 14, 1997, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 (registered HK-4062X) was on a flight from San Andrés to

, via

. As the aircraft landed at Matecaña International Airport, the nose and left main undercarriage, followed by the right main undercarriage, collapsed. All 39 passengers and 5 crew members survived. The aircraft was damaged beyond repairs and was written off; however, it was preserved at

Bojacá Bojacá is a municipality and town of the Western Savanna Province, Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is situated at an altitude of on the Bogotá savanna at from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Zipacón, ...

on a private farmland for ground equipment. *On June 14, 2002, a DC-9-14 (registered HK-3859X) overshot the runway on landing at Benito Salas Airport. All 65 passengers and 6 crew members survived, while the aircraft was written off.

References

External links

Airline Codes website
* Flight International, 5–11 April 2005 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Intercontinental de Aviacion Defunct airlines of Colombia Airlines established in 1960 Airlines disestablished in 2005 Defunct companies of Colombia 2005 disestablishments in Colombia