After five years of financial and logistical restructuring, the "National Flag Carrier of Bolivia", LAB, is ready to fly again. It only awaits the final "ye" from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) to commence flying national and international routes.
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), the emblematic flag carrier of Bolivia, is rising like a phoenix. Under the premise that «it never went bankrupt», after five years of silent work by the general management, supported by the Federation of Workers and a Bolivian investor, now the airline"™s executives are only waiting for the go-ahead from the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) to start its operations immediately.
«Since May 2017, we have been held up in the process of recertification as required by the DGAC. It an incomprehensible delay», says Orlando Nogales Nogales, general manager of the LAB. The DGA must «re-establish» the Air Operator Certificate (COA) and the operating permit.
Speaking at the airline"™s headquarters in Cochabamba, Nogales confirmed that the company already has three aircraft, including a Boeing 727-200 (designation CP-1366) with capacity for 164 passengers, which will be ready to commence flying as from April 2018.
Currently, the aircraft is located in LAB"™s hanger where it is being maintained by SAE Company (Specialized Aeronautical Services).
«If the DGAC continues to delay, we are thinking of renting. This airline must fly, yes or ye", said Nogales, emphasizing various technical parameters and aviation regulations.
It has been a journey of five years. According to the general management of LAB, they have been «ready to fly» since 2012. With the support of the new Trade Union Federation of Workers, that journey includes company «research», the recovery of missing documentation, ownership rights to tangible assets such as land, infrastructure, technology and all the logistics that LAB had created over the past 90 years of its history…
