Ecuatoriana Airlines reported to have obtained its operating permit for domestic flights in Ecuador. The carrier is planning to launch its operations in the first quarter of 2021. 

The request for the license was made on August 29, 2020. On November 4, 2020, the National Council of Civil Aviation of Ecuador (CNAC) granted the permit for the provision of regular domestic air transport service in the country. 

“Once the operation permit is received, Ecuatoriana Airlines will proceed to the 5-phase certification process in which we will demonstrate the organizational, technical, and professional capacity of our team”, the company outlined in a statement. 

The carrier intends to launch services from the Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), in Quito, Ecuador. Based on the application sent to CNAC, the new airline plans to serve the cities of Coca, Cuenca, Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Loja, Macas, Manta, Quito, Santa Rosa, and Tulcán. 

Avianca (AVHOQ) and LATAM are the most important airlines in Ecuador. The country had a state airline TAME, founded in 1962. However, it has lost over $400 million in the past 5 years. In May 2020, the government liquidated the company.

Ecuatoriana Airlines was launched by a group of investors in the US and Ecuador. “The project was born in July 2013 as an idea of its founders, which materialized in November 2019 when the airline was established as a Sociedad Anónima (SA) in Ecuador,” according to the company’s statement from September 2020. It also claimed in having no involvement with the Ecuador government, TAME airlines or any political party. 

The shareholders of Ecuatoriana Airlines Ecuador include Eduardo Delgado Martillo and Ann Marlene Martillo. Company, legally registered in Ecuador, has a share capital of $16,000.