President Gustavo Petro endorsed the Ministry of Transport's proposal for airlines to self-regulate ticket prices during the year-end season. Minister María Fernanda Rojas asked the Aeronáutica Civil to enforce this amid expected high demand. However, Iata's Colombia manager, Paola Bernal, attributes high prices to elevated taxes and fees.
On December 29, 2025, President Gustavo Petro publicly backed the Ministry of Transport's initiative to regulate air ticket prices in Colombia, focusing on the year-end season. This came after Minister María Fernanda Rojas asked the Aeronáutica Civil to require airlines to self-regulate and avoid disproportionate increases. "The key word to lower prices is: democratization of slots," Petro wrote on his X account, stressing the need for more airport time slots, new tourist airports, and greater competition from local and international airlines to connect Colombia to all five continents.
Petro warned that concentrating slots in few airlines could lead to monopolistic practices, unjustly raising costs for passengers. He proposed as a structural solution increasing competition, allowing more airlines to enter, and strengthening Satena as a public company. Official projections indicate over 3.2 million passengers will travel from December 19, 2025, to January 5, 2026, with nearly two million on domestic flights and 1.2 million on international ones.
Rojas questioned prices like a ticket to Cartagena costing the same as to Miami, noting that airlines receive state benefits that should result in reasonable fares. She stated the government will support those complying with self-regulation and respecting price ceilings.
Meanwhile, Paola Bernal, Iata's Colombia manager, explained that since 2012, removing floor and ceiling tariffs has boosted competition, cutting base fares by more than 3% for domestic and international flights. However, taxes and fees have risen sharply: they account for 30% of national tickets and over 50% of international ones, above the global average. "Air transport is the only public transport service in Colombia that pays 19% VAT, not only on the ticket but also on aviation fuel," Bernal noted. She recommended maintaining tariff freedom and reviewing the tax scheme, as 75% of consumers are from low-income strata. She attributed cheaper digital platform prices to early-booking strategies to fill flights.
