Getting to Colombia From This Midwest City Is About to Get Easier Thanks to a New Direct Flight

It just got easier to visit a gateway to Latin America. 

Avianca Airlines recently announced new, direct service from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport. The new daily service will operate on an Airbus A320, and begin on October 27, 2024. The flight will depart Chicago at 2:35 pm CST, and arrive in Bogotá at 8:25 pm COT (Colombia’s timezone, which is the same as CST). 

“This new route will allow more travelers to connect to the United States through our network and facilitate the arrival of new visitors to Colombia and the rest of our region,” Avianca’s Sales Director Rolando Damas said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure. 

With the Chicago route launch, Avianca will operate service to 13 different cities in the United States including Boston, Dallas, Las Vegas, and New York. 

The Bogota-based airline was recognized as the “most on-time global airline in 2023” by air tracking service Cirium.  Avianca is also a member of the Star Alliance, the same alliance as Chicago-based United Airlines, which could be helpful for frequent flyers looking to earn miles and utilize benefits within the same airline alliance.

Bogotá is a cultural hub for Colombia, and home to a variety of popular museums including the Santa Clara Museum, and MAMU (Miguel Urrutia Museum of Art). The Gold Museum has also become a traveler favorite and features more than 400 unique gold pieces from Colombia’s history. 

From Bogotá, passengers can connect to a variety of other flights including to the Magdalena region in the highly-acclaimed Caribbean coast, home to white-sand beaches and historical sites. Travelers can also connect to Medellín, or even the Amazon rainforest.  

“Colombia’s slice of the Amazon rainforest isn’t as well-known as the Amazon in neighboring countries, but it’s almost better that way. You’ll see far fewer people here and have a much better chance of encountering wildlife because of it,”  Colombia-based luxury travel adviser Boris Seckovic shared with T+L.