Fog, Drones and Demand Fuel Delays at Bogotá’s El Dorado

Passengers flying with Avianca through Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport have faced recurring delays and cancellations in recent months, as low visibility, airspace interruptions and heavy demand converge at Colombia’s busiest hub.

Recurring Weather Disruptions Slow Morning Operations

Several recent episodes of dense fog and low cloud over Bogotá have led to sizeable delays and cancellations at El Dorado, disrupting Avianca’s tightly timed hub operations. Publicly available information from Colombian media in January 2026 described early-morning banks of flights departing late or holding on the ground because of reduced visibility around the airport. Similar conditions have been reported at various points throughout the first half of the year, affecting departures and arrivals during peak hours.

Coverage from April and June 2026 indicates that low visibility can trigger ground stops or restrictions on the number of active runways, forcing carriers such as Avianca to slow their schedules and re-sequence flights. These constraints ripple across the network, especially for passengers connecting through Bogotá to other Colombian cities or onward to North and South America. Even modest delays early in the day can compound, leaving later flights out of slot or requiring aircraft swaps.

Reports also highlight that visibility issues at El Dorado have at times coincided with Colombia’s rainy season and shifting weather patterns. Aviation-focused outlets note that when morning fog forms over the capital, operations at the airport can be constrained for several hours, which has a direct effect on Avianca’s regional legs serving cities such as Barranquilla and others on the Caribbean coast.

On some days, those conditions have resulted in outright cancellations rather than simple schedule slippage. Publicly available coverage from early 2026 described cases in which Avianca flights were scrubbed after extended holds in Bogotá, with aircraft and crews unable to complete the day’s planned rotations within regulated duty limits.

Drone Alerts and Airspace Restrictions Add New Uncertainty

In addition to weather, a series of drone alerts has periodically interrupted activity at El Dorado, adding another source of delay for Avianca customers. Colombian news outlets reported that in late April 2026 operations at the airport were temporarily suspended after a suspected drone sighting near approach paths, a precaution that affected both takeoffs and landings. Visual evidence shared on social platforms and cited in published coverage showed commercial aircraft including Avianca jets flying extended holding patterns while the situation was assessed.

Additional reporting from early May pointed to at least one more drone-related interruption, again prompting brief but disruptive halts to arrivals and departures. When such events occur, aircraft already in the air may have to divert or burn extra fuel in stacks near Bogotá, while those on the ground face departure backlogs once the airspace is cleared. These pauses can be relatively short in clock time but still cause significant knock-on effects for a hub carrier coordinating dozens of connections.

For Avianca, which concentrates a large share of its network through Bogotá, unexpected holdings related to drone alerts complicate crew scheduling and aircraft rotations. Flights arriving late from affected operations can misalign with onward departures, particularly in waves designed for international connections. Passengers report on social platforms and travel forums that missed connections and rebookings have become a recurring concern on days marked by irregular operations.

Publicly available information underscores that drone incidents remain under investigation, and aviation authorities and airport operators have signaled heightened monitoring. Until incursions around the airport perimeter are fully controlled, occasional short-notice restrictions on airspace use are expected to remain part of the operating environment for Avianca and other carriers.

Infrastructure Strain and Operational Limits at Colombia’s Main Hub

While acute events such as fog and drone sightings draw headlines, aviation specialists in Colombia point to longer-term structural pressures at El Dorado that also contribute to delays and cancellations. Recent interviews and analysis in national media highlight concerns from air traffic controllers about congestion and infrastructure limitations at the airport, which handles far more traffic than originally envisaged when its facilities were planned.

According to published commentary from industry representatives, Bogotá’s primary meteorological radar serving the terminal area has experienced extended outages since 2025. That situation, described in Colombian radio segments, has reportedly forced air traffic services to rely on alternative tools and procedures during adverse weather, which can result in more conservative spacing between aircraft and reduced capacity when storms or low clouds move through the region.

Traffic growth has also created chronic saturation at certain times of day. El Dorado’s role as Avianca’s main hub means that large waves of arrivals and departures occur within narrow windows, putting strain on runways, taxiways and terminal infrastructure. Data compilations from airport-focused tracking sites for the three months leading into July 2026 show that a measurable share of flights operated by Avianca at Bogotá experienced moderate departure or arrival delays, reflecting this tight operating margin.

These constraints have practical consequences for travelers. Airline schedule planners may have little flexibility to add buffer time without undermining connectivity, so routine weather fluctuations or minor technical issues can quickly push operations outside their ideal windows. As a result, Avianca customers connecting through El Dorado increasingly face a scenario where on-time performance depends heavily on conditions aligning across many variables.

Impact on Avianca Passengers and Travel Planning

The combination of recurring fog, occasional drone alerts and structural congestion has sharpened the focus of travelers on connection times and contingency plans when flying with Avianca through Bogotá. Discussions on travel forums and social media from 2026 describe a wide range of experiences, from smooth connections of around an hour to missed flights after multi-hour holds due to weather or operational constraints.

Some travelers report that tight domestic or international connections can be viable when conditions are normal, especially if both flights are with Avianca and use the same terminal. However, anecdotal accounts also emphasize that any disruption at El Dorado can quickly erode these margins. Passengers have described arriving late from weather-affected flights only to find that subsequent segments were rescheduled for later in the day or, in some cases, rebooked for the following day.

Publicly available information on airline policies indicates that when delays and cancellations are categorized as weather-related or linked to airspace restrictions, compensation options may be limited, though carriers typically provide rebooking on the next available service. Travel advisers often recommend that passengers transiting Bogotá build in longer connection times where possible, particularly during known periods of heavy fog or intense rainfall.

Despite the challenges, El Dorado remains a critical hub for connectivity across the Americas, and Avianca continues to operate hundreds of daily flights through the airport. Industry observers note that improvements in radar coverage, airspace management and terminal capacity would likely ease the pressure behind some of the most frequent delay triggers. Until such measures are fully in place, travelers using Bogotá as a gateway are likely to continue factoring potential disruptions into their plans.