New Delhi: Latin America’s largest airlines Avianca has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court as its operations have been severely impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several media reports said.

The Colombian flag carrier said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a court in New York. 

The process gives US firms some time to reorganise their debts or sell parts of the business.

The firm has said that the Coronavirus pandemic had cut more than 80 percent of its income, and that the airlines was struggling with high fixed costs.
The airline mentioned that it carries 30 million passengers annually and is responsible for 21,000 jobs in Latin America (this includes 14,000 in Colombia) either directly or indirectly.

Founded in 1919, Avianca claims to be the world’s second-oldest continuously running airline.