LaMia

This article is about the airline Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación. For other uses, see Lamia (disambiguation).
LaMia
IATA ICAO Callsign
? LMI Lamia
Founded 2015
Commenced operations January 2016
Ceased operations 1 December 2016
Fleet size 2
Headquarters Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Key people Gustavo Vargas Gamboa (owner)
Employees 8
Website www.lamiacorp.com

LaMia, short for Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación, is a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. It has its origins in the failed Venezuelan airline of the same name. Founded in 2015, LaMia operates two Avro RJ85 aircraft as of November 2016. The airline received international attention when one of its aircraft crashed in November 2016, killing many members of Brazilian football club Chapecoense. In the aftermath, LaMia's air operator's certificate was suspended by the Bolivian civil aviation authority.

History

LaMia (Venezuela)

Bolivian airline LaMia originates in the failed Venezuelan airline of the same name, which was founded in in 2009 by Spanish businessman Ricardo Albacete.[1] It took delivery of an ATR 72 wet leased from Swiftair and intended to begin service out of Mérida, Venezuela, its original base.[2] However, the company failed to secure its own air operator's certificate and folded in October 2010 after only operating since August. After its permits expired, LaMia attempted a relaunch in 2011 by taking a single Avro RJ85 and focusing on domestic flights, although none operated from Mérida.[3] Having had its efforts in Mérida thwarted twice, the airline moved to the state of Nueva Esparta: the airline changed the M in its name to mean Margarita and planned to relaunch in early 2014 operating out of Porlamar.[4] A November 2013 demonstration flight featured the state's governor, Carlos Mata Figueroa, and Albacete gave a speech praising Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro; this incarnation also fell through amidst the country's worsening economic crisis.[5]

LaMia (Bolivia)

With their repeated failures in two Venezuelan states,[6] the Venezuelan owners opted to rent the three RJ85s they had to Bolivian entrepreneurs, who adopted the name painted on the aircraft: LaMia.[1] In November 2015, Bolivian airline LaMia—a legally distinct company—set up offices in a house in Santa Cruz de la Sierra,[7] and received permission from its national civil aviation authority to begin offering domestic charter flights there; such operations began in January 2016 under the new company's "indefinite" operating certificate.[8][9] Its fleet included three RJ85 aircraft with capacity for 95 passengers, though two never flew and the airline never offered commercial service.[1] At the time, operations coordinator Mario Pacheco said that resource extraction and mining companies, travel agencies and soccer teams were among their target clients.[8] Indeed, soccer teams were among the most faithful clients, and the airline had flown the Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela national teams as well as the Colombian Atlético Nacional, the Paraguayan Club Olimpia and local sides Oriente Petrolero, The Strongest and Club Blooming.[1][5][7] Additionally, the Bolivian Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy was a client of the airline.[10]

In the aftermath of the crash of Flight 2933, DGAC, Bolivia's aviation authority, suspended LaMia's operating license,[11] and the Bolivian Labor Ministry stated that LaMia was not a registered business with the government.[12] Bolivian law requires all employers to be registered with the Labor Ministry, which maintains the Obligatory Registry of Businesses.[12]

Corporate affairs

LaMia is headquartered in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[1] It is owned by Gustavo Vargas Gamboa; its other owner, Miguel Alejandro Quiroga Murakami, died in the Flight 2933 accident.[13] As of 30 November 2016, the airline has eight employees.[14]

Albacete, the owner of the Venezuelan airline that owns the Bolivian airline's fleet, told press from Spain that while he was emotionally affected by the disaster, he was not involved in the Bolivian airline's operations.[6]

Fleet

A LaMia Avro RJ85 registered P4-LOR at Glasgow Airport in 2013, operating for the Venezuelan LaMia. The aircraft was re-registered as CP-2933 in 2015 and was destroyed in the Flight 2933 accident.[15]

As of 30 November 2016, the LaMia fleet comprises two Avro RJ85 aircraft.[13] One is stored at Cochabamba while the other is stored at Valera.[16]

LaMia fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Avro RJ85 2 — 95[14] —
Total 2 0

Accidents and incidents

Flight 2933

Main article: LaMia Flight 2933

On the night of November 28, 2016 at approximately 10:33 pm (Bogotá time), LaMia Flight 2933, which carried 81 passengers mostly composed of Brazilian football squad Chapecoense, departed Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia) heading towards Medellín (Colombia) when the aircraft crashed in the countryside just outside La Unión in Antioquía department. Out of the 81 passengers, 72 were officially confirmed dead. Miguel Quiroga, one of the flight crew of the downed aircraft, was also a part owner of the airline.[7] The crash exposed gaps in safety at the airline. LaMia did not meet IATA regulations that would have permitted it to handle the aftermath of the crash; instead, the airline had to borrow 100 coffins, requiring Avianca, the Colombian flag carrier, and the Colombian and Brazilian governments to step in and pick up the slack.[17] The Bolivian government proceeded to suspend LaMia's license on December 1.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 André, Christopher (30 November 2016). "La historia del avión que se estrelló en Colombia" [The history of the plane that crashed in Colombia]. El Deber (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "En julio comienzan a llegar aeronaves de Lamia a Mérida" [In July, Lamia planes will begin to arrive in Mérida]. Diario Los Andes. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Maslen, Richard (4 August 2011). "NEW AIRLINE: LAMIA Plans Relaunch in Venezuela". RoutesOnline. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "LaMia commences domestic Venezuelan operations". CH-Aviation. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Promesas fallidas, mudanzas y negocios oscuros detrás del único avión que volaba la empresa LAMIA" [Failed promises, moves and hidden deals behind the only plane flown by LAMIA]. Infobae (in Spanish). 29 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Habló el dueño del avión de LAMIA: tomó distancia de la tragedia y le echó la culpa a "un rayo"" [The owner of the LAMIA plane speaks: he distanced himself from the tragedy and blamed it on "a lightning bolt"]. Infobae. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Navia, Roberto (29 November 2016). "LaMia es boliviana y uno de sus dueños falleció" [LaMia is Bolivian and one of its owners died]. El Deber (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 Rojas Moreno, Fernando (17 April 2016). "Línea Lamia vuela en Bolivia y dos foráneas alistan incursión" [Lamia airline flies in Bolivia and two foreign carriers prepare market entry]. El Deber. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Alanoca, Jesús. "LaMia recibió certificado 'indefinido' en julio 2015" [LaMia received "indefinite" certificate in July 2015]. El Deber (in Spanish).
  10. ↑ "Aerolínea LAMIA Corporation se presenta en Paraguay" [Airline LAMIA Corporation presents itself in Paraguay]. Aeronáutica Paraguay (in Spanish). 20 September 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "Chapecoense air crash: Bolivia suspends LaMia airline". BBC News. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  12. 1 2 Alanoca, Jesús (29 November 2016). "LaMia no está registrada en Ministerio de Trabajo" [LaMia is not registered with Labor Ministry]. El Deber. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  13. 1 2 Haines, Gavin (30 November 2016). "Colombia plane crash: What do we know about the airline?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Lamia, la pequeña aerolínea operada en Bolivia que protagonizó el trágico accidente del club de fútbol Chapecoense cerca de Medellín" [LaMia, the small airline operating in Bolivia that was involved in the tragic Chapecoense football club accident near Medellín]. BBC Mundo (in Spanish). 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Avro RJ.85 CP-2933 La Unión". Aviation Safety Network. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "LaMia Bolivia's AOC suspended following Colombia crash". ch-aviation. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  17. ↑ Unidad Investigativa (30 November 2016). "La aerolínea tuvo que acudir hasta a féretros prestados" [Airline even had to use loaned coffins]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Reuters (1 December 2016). "Colombia plane crash: Bolivia suspends airline that operated flight". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2016.

External links

Media related to LaMia at Wikimedia Commons

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