Frontier Airlines has applied to open four daily routes from Orlando to Colombia, a move that would mark its entry into the South American country and extend its effort to absorb capacity left by Spirit Airlines.
The application to Colombia’s civil aviation regulator, Aerocivil, seeks authority to connect Orlando International Airport (MCO) with Bogota El Dorado International Airport (BOG), Medellin José María Córdova International Airport (MDE), Cartagena Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG) and Cali Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport (CLO).
Frontier is seeking 7X-weekly service on each route using Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, equivalent to 28X-weekly roundtrips. The application covers passenger, cargo and mail services with traffic rights through fourth freedom.
If launched, the network would give the Denver-based carrier its first scheduled flights to Colombia. The airline has previously sought approval to enter the country through a proposed San Juan-Bogota route, but no scheduled flights have yet taken place.
The latest application targets a market impacted by Spirit’s failure in May. The former ULCC served Orlando-Bogota and Orlando-Medellin through its final weeks of operation, while its Orlando-Cartagena route last operated in February 2025.
Frontier would therefore replace some of Spirit’s former capacity, while Cartagena and Cali would gain nonstop service that is not currently available from Orlando.
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that airlines are offering 61,220 two-way seats between Orlando and Colombia in August 2026, down 14.8% from 71,852 a year earlier.
Bogota accounts for 50,060 seats, or 81.8% of the market. Avianca provides 30,960 seats, and LATAM Airlines Group offers 19,100. Frontier’s proposed daily service would introduce a third operator. Avianca is the sole carrier on Orlando-Medellin, offering 11,160 seats and a daily roundtrip during August.
In the wider Florida-Colombia market, capacity has fallen sharply since Spirit’s exit. Airlines are providing about 361,700 seats in August 2026, down 16% year over year.
Avianca’s share has risen from 37.1% to 53.6%, supported by a 21.3% increase in capacity to 194,040 seats. American Airlines holds 24.5% of the market, followed by LATAM at 10.2%, Emirates at 6.1% and JetBlue Airways at 5.6%.
Across the broader U.S.-Colombia market, capacity is down 10% year over year to 585,200 seats. Spirit offered 92,600 seats in August 2025, accounting for 14.2% of the market.
Frontier has already moved to capture some of the capacity Spirit vacated at Orlando. Its scheduled capacity at MCO has increased 53% year over year to 435,200 seats in August 2026, raising its airport share from 10.1% to 16.4%. It now ranks second at MCO behind Southwest Airlines, despite total airport capacity falling 5.8%.
In July, Frontier began or restored Orlando services to Boston, Memphis and Richmond as part of a group of eight routes previously operated by Spirit. OAG data also shows it serving several other former Spirit markets from Orlando, including Guatemala City, San Pedro Sula and San Antonio.
The proposed Colombia expansion comes as Frontier seeks to return to sustained profitability while keeping its fleet broadly stable. The carrier ended the second quarter with 165 aircraft and expects to operate no more than 168 by the first quarter of 2027, remaining at that level through year-end.
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