In early 2025, Qatar Airways revealed intentions to commence service to two additional destinations in South America, as part of a triangular flight plan. However, those plans did not materialize… until now. Qatar Airways has recently reaffirmed these intentions, and service is set to begin in the forthcoming weeks.
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Qatar Airways will operate flights to Colombia & Venezuela
Starting July 22, 2026, Qatar Airways will introduce a new route connecting two destinations in South America. Specifically, the airline will operate flights from Doha, Qatar (DOH), to Bogota, Colombia (BOG). The return trip will include a stop in Caracas, Venezuela (CCS), allowing pick-up and drop-off services there. The schedule for the route will be as follows:
QR783 Doha to Bogota departing 7:30AM arriving 4:05PM
QR783 Bogota to Caracas departing 5:35PM arriving 8:40PM
QR783 Caracas to Doha departing 10:40PM arriving 7:55PM (+1 day)
The service will run bi-weekly, on Wednesdays and Sundays in both directions, employing the Boeing 777-200LR. While Qatar Airways can pick-up and drop-off passengers in Caracas, a significant reason for including Caracas is that Bogota’s high altitude restricts nonstop flights to Doha due to major payload limitations. Routing through Caracas, which is situated at a lower elevation, enables feasible operations.
This route will rank among Qatar Airways’ longest. The segment from Doha to Bogota spans 8,261 miles and is designated with a block time of 16hr15min. For the return via Caracas, the first segment covers 636 miles with a block time of 2hr5min, while the second segment encompasses 7,630 miles with a block time of 14hr15min. The Caracas stop adds only five miles to the direct air distance.
Qatar Airways will connect Bogota & Caracas
For a frame of reference regarding the flight distance, past Qatar Airways flights to California and Texas generally range between 8,000 to 8,300 miles, making this flight of similar length. Conversely, Qatar Airways’ longest route to New Zealand exceeds 9,000 miles.
How this integrates into Qatar Airways’ network
At present, Qatar Airways’ only operational route in South America is to Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU), being serviced twice daily. Pre-pandemic, Qatar Airways included a tag flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE), but that service has ceased. Bogota and Caracas will become Qatar Airways’ 15th and 16th destinations across the Americas.
This marks Qatar Airways’ second route to South America
I don’t possess extensive knowledge regarding the economics of ultra long haul operations to Northern South America. On one hand, this appears to be an extensive route, necessitating solid yields to ensure the financial viability of such service.
Conversely, Qatar Airways holds a stake in LATAM, which operates a solid network from Bogota. Therefore, in conjunction with LATAM and various interline opportunities, this could potentially attract traffic bound for the northern regions of South America. Additionally, it’s important to consider that transiting through the United States can be problematic for some travelers, as a visa is required for international transit.
The pick-up and drop-off privileges in Caracas are also noteworthy, raising questions about the potential traffic on that leg of the route. Turkish Airlines provides up to two daily flights from Istanbul (IST) to Caracas, indicating an existing demand, and it would be intriguing to discover where connecting passengers on that flight are originating from, beyond Istanbul. Of course, the situation in Venezuela adds layers of interest, especially considering the recent resumption of nonstop flights from the United States.
In terms of Middle Eastern airlines servicing Bogota while transiting the United States, Qatar Airways won’t be the pioneering Gulf carrier to reach Bogota. In June 2024, Emirates introduced a new fifth freedom flight to Bogota from Miami (MIA), extending its current service to Miami.
Emirates also operates flights to Bogota, but through Miami
As evidenced, Emirates is adopting an alternate strategy there, which could be advantageous or disadvantageous. The airline taps into a significant segment of the Miami to Bogota market, although the flight may not be as convenient for travelers going directly between the Gulf region and Colombia, owing to the complications with US transit. However, experiencing Emirates first class between Miami and Bogota is surely a luxury!
Bottom line
From July 2026 onwards, Qatar Airways will initiate twice weekly flights to Bogota, Colombia, and Caracas, Venezuela. The objective is for the outbound flight to proceed directly to Bogota, while the return flight will operate with a