West Caribbean Airways S.A. (abbreviated as WCA) was a commercial
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
founded in December 1998 with its headquarters at
Olaya Herrera Airport
Olaya Herrera Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Olaya Herrera) is an airport located in Medellín, Colombia, that serves regional and domestic flights. Additionally, the airport is used by general aviation and features several hangars for charters.
To ...
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 ...
,
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 ...
after moving there from
San Andres Island in 2001. It began operating in November 1999 and ceased operations in September 2005.
History
The company was founded on December 29, 1998, by Colombian businessman Hassan Tannir and began operations on November 13, 1999. Originally based in
San Andrés, it began operations with four
Let L-410 Turbolet
The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005), often used as an airliner. The aircraft is capable of landing on short an ...
s that served San Andrés and Providencia Island as the first destinations.
In 2000, West Caribbean Airways added flights to Cartagena, Monteria, and Barranquilla with
ATR 42
The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France.
On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...
s leased and also expanded to international routes to
Varadero
Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach was rated one of the world's best beaches in ...
, Cuba;
Panama City
Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
, Panama; and
San Jose, Costa Rica. The next year, a group of investors acquired the airline and relocated its headquarters to Medellin. This put it in competition with
ACES and
Avianca
Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...
.
The airline expanded very rapidly, and acquired two
McDonnell Douglas MD-82
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...
s which operated various international and regional routes.
By 2005, serious financial and procedural problems were evident at West Caribbean Airways. It posted $6 million in losses in 2004.
In January, the airline was fined $45,000 by Colombia's civil aeronautics government agency,
UAEAC, for 14 safety violations, including lack of training for pilots, pilots flying too many flight hours, and flight data not being properly logged.
A few months later, in March 2005,
Flight 9955 brought further scrutiny by UAEAC. Due to its 2004 losses, the civil aviation authority began close monitoring of West Caribbean Airways's finances in May, though it was stated that the airline was fulfilling its commitments.
On August 16, 2005,
Flight 708 crashed in Venezuela. By the time of this accident, WCA had only four aircraft left in its fleet: a
Let L-410 Turbolet
The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005), often used as an airliner. The aircraft is capable of landing on short an ...
, two undergoing maintenance, and the aircraft destroyed in flight 708. West Caribbean Airways was grounded by UAEAC late in the day on August 17.
The end of operations occurred in September 2005, when the airline could no longer sustain operations. Crew members indicated to passengers that the airline would remain on the ground due to the poor economic conditions and that it did not have the ability to meet its financial obligations.
Destinations
West Caribbean Airways operated the following services (at January 2005):
*
**
Oranjestad (
Queen Beatrix International Airport
Queen Beatrix International Airport ( nl, Internationale luchthaven Koningin Beatrix; pap, Aeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix), colloquially known as Aruba Airport , is an international airport located in Oranjestad, Aruba. It has flight s ...
)
*
**
Apartadó
Apartadó () is a town and municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia.
"Apartadó" means "river of plantains" in the local Indian language. The town is located near the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Urabá, the economy is based in banan ...
(
Antonio Roldán Betancourt Airport
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
)
**
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
(
El Edén International Airport
El Edén International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional El Edén) is an international airport serving Armenia, the capital of the Quindío Department of Colombia. The airport is southwest of Armenia, near the town of La Tebaid ...
)
**
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 ...
(
Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport
Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Ernesto Cortissoz, ) is an international airport serving the area of Barranquilla, the capital city of the Atlántico department in Colombia. The airport is located in the subu ...
)
**
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 ...
(
El Dorado International Airport
El Dorado International Airport is an international airport serving Bogotá, Colombia and its surrounding areas. The airport is located mostly in the Fontibón district of Bogotá, although it partially extends into the Engativá district and ...
) Hub
**
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 ...
(
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport , formerly known as Palmaseca International Airport, is an international airport located between Palmira and Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia. It is Colombia's fourth-busies ...
)
**
Cartagena (
Rafael Núñez International Airport
Rafael Núñez International Airport is an international airport serving the Caribbean port city of Cartagena, Colombia, Cartagena, Colombia. It is the largest airport in the country's northern Caribbean region in terms of passenger movement. It ...
)
**
Caucasia (
Juan H. White Airport)
**
Chigorodó
Chigorodó () is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia.
Residents
* Jaime Castañeda, cyclist
Climate
Chigorodó has a tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial clim ...
(
Jaime Ortiz Betancur Airport)
**
Cúcuta
Cúcuta (), officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, at the foot of the Eastern ...
(
Camilo Daza International Airport
Camilo Daza International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Camilo Daza, ) is an international airport located in Cúcuta, Colombia. It serves the Norte de Santander Department.
The airport is from the center of Cúcuta. It has internation ...
)
**
El Bagre (
El Bagre Airport)
**
Manizales
Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...
(
La Nubia Airport
La Nubia Airport is an airport serving Manizales, Colombia, southeast of the city's downtown.
Due to its short runway and limited ramp space, the only aircraft that can use the airport are turbopropeller aircraft such as the Fokker 50, ATR 72, ...
)
**
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 ...
(
José María Córdova International Airport
José María Córdova International Airport is an international airport located in the city of Rionegro, south-east of Medellín, and is the second largest airport in Colombia after El Dorado International Airport of Bogotá in terms of infra ...
) Hub
**
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 ...
(
Olaya Herrera Airport
Olaya Herrera Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Olaya Herrera) is an airport located in Medellín, Colombia, that serves regional and domestic flights. Additionally, the airport is used by general aviation and features several hangars for charters.
To ...
) Hub
**
Montería
Montería () is a municipality and city located in northern Colombia and is the capital of the Departments of Colombia, Department of Córdoba Department, Córdoba. The city is located away from the Caribbean sea, by the Sinú River. The city an ...
(
Los Garzones Airport
Los Garzones International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Los Garzones, ) is an international airport serving the city of Montería in the Córdoba Department of Colombia. It is the only airport in the department that can handle modern j ...
)
**
Otú (
Otú Airport
Otú Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Otú) is an airport located in the village of Otú and serving the town of Remedios, a municipality of the Antioquia Department in Colombia. It is also known as Alberto Jaramillo Sanchez Airport.
Currently only ...
)
**
Providencia (
El Embrujo Airport
El Embrujo Airport is an airport serving Providencia Island, Colombia. The airport is located in the north east side of the island, in the limits of the Old Providence McBean Lagoon National Natural Park.
The runway is on the eastern edge of the ...
)
**
Puerto Berrío
Puerto Berrío is a municipality and town in the Colombian department of Antioquia.
Geography
Puerto Berrío is located in a region of Antioquia known as the Middle Magdalena (near the Magdalena River). It is bounded on the north by the munic ...
(
Morela Airport)
**
Quibdó
Quibdó () is the capital city of Chocó Department, in Western Colombia, and is located on the Atrato River. The municipality of Quibdó has an area of 3,337.5 km² and a population of 129,237, predominantly Afro Colombian, including Zambo C ...
(
El Caraño Airport
El Caraño Airport is an airport serving Quibdó in the Chocó Department of Colombia.
The Quibdo VOR-DME (Ident: UIB) and non-directional beacon (Ident: UIB) are located on the field.
In 2016, the airport handled 368,920 passengers, and 347,20 ...
)
**
San Andrés (
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport (IATA: ADZ, ICAO: SKSP) (formerly Sesquicentenario Airport) is the main airport in the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, one of the departments of Colombia. It is able to rece ...
)
**
Tolú
Tolú is a small municipality and town in Sucre Department, northern Colombia by the Caribbean sea. The municipality has an area of 500 km². It is named for the Tolú, one the Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Indigenous peoples of South Amer ...
(
Golfo de Morrosquillo Airport)
**
Turbo
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
(
Gonzalo Mejía Airport)
**
Urrao
Urrao is a town and municipality of Colombia, located in the subregion southwest of the department of Antioquia. Limited by the north with the municipalities of Frontino and Abriaquí, in the east with the municipalities of Abriaquí, Caic ...
(
Urrao Airport)
*
**
San José (
Juan Santamaría International Airport
Juan Santamaría International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría) is the primary airport serving San José, the capital of Costa Rica. The airport is located in the city of Alajuela, 20 km (12 miles) west of downto ...
)
*
**
Panama City
Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
(
Tocumen International Airport
Tocumen International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen) is the primary international airport serving Panama City, the capital of Panama. The airport serves as the homebase for Copa Airlines and is a regional hub to and from The ...
)
Fleet
The West Caribbean Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
Accidents and incidents
*On March 26, 2005,
West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955
West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955 was a scheduled flight between Isla de Providencia and San Andres Island, Colombia that crashed on 25 March 2005, killing 9 of the 14 passengers and crew on board.
Accident
The aircraft, a Let L-410 Turbolet, ...
, a
Let L-410 Turbolet
The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005), often used as an airliner. The aircraft is capable of landing on short an ...
(registered HK-4146), on departure from El Embrujo,
Isla de Providencia
Isla de Providencia, historically Old Providence, and generally known as Providencia, is a mountainous Caribbean island that is part of the Colombian department of Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina and the municipality o ...
failed to climb and hit hills close to the
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
, killing the two crew and six of the twelve passengers. Initial reports suggested a technical fault.
[''Flight International'', July 2005]
*On August 16, 2005,
West Caribbean Airways Flight 708
West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 was a West Caribbean Airways charter flight that crashed in northwest Venezuela in the early hours of Tuesday, 16 August 2005, killing all 160 passengers and crew on board. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80, ...
, a chartered
McDonnell Douglas MD-82
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...
(registered HK-4374X) heading from
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
to
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, crashed in remote western
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
due to human errors, killing all 160 aboard, mostly French nationals.
References
External links
*
West Caribbean Airways(Archive)
West Caribbean Airways Fleet
{{Airlines of Colombia
Defunct airlines of Colombia
Airlines established in 1998
Airlines disestablished in 2005