Santa Bárbara Airlines C.A, doing business as SBA Airlines and formerly as Santa Bárbara Airlines prior to 2008,[3] was an airline with its headquarters on the third floor of the Edificio Tokay in Caracas, Venezuela.[4] It operated scheduled domestic and international services. Its main base was Simón Bolívar International Airport, Maiquetía (Caracas).
In early 2009, a 245-seater Boeing 767-300ER was introduced into the fleet to replace a wet-leased aircraft of the same type, and Funchal and Madrid were incorporated into the international network (which already included Miami, Quito and Tenerife) in June the same year.[6]
In late January 2018, the National Institute of Civil Aviation suspended SBA Airlines for 90 days citing the airline's impossibility to fulfil the schedules, amid the cancellation of some flights that left stranded passengers in Miami.[8][9] At this time, the Caracas–Miami route was the only service the airline had available to book at its website.[8] SBA Airlines ceased operations on April 26, 2018 (2018-04-26), after it returned its air operator's certificate.[1][10]
Destinations
SBA Airlines served the following scheduled destinations as of January 2018.[11] After all flights were suspended by government authorities on 26 January 2018,[12]
On 21 February 2008, an ATR 42-300 turboprop airliner operating Flight 518 from Mérida to Caracas, went missing shortly after taking off. Forty-three passengers and a crew of three, including two pilots and one flight attendant, were reportedly on board at the time. The remains of the aircraft were found the following day in a mountain range approximately 10 kilometers north-east of Mérida at an altitude of 12,000 feet (3,700 m). No survivors were found. After the accident, the company started a new public relations program as well as a new marketing initiative, switching the airline's name to SBA Airlines.
,_Santa_Barbara_Airlines_(SmartLynx_Airlines)_JP6680977.jpg)
