Bolivian minister: State airline BoA is 'destroyed' but will not be privatized

Bolivian Minister of Public Works Mauricio Zamora has declared that the state-owned airline Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) is in a critical financial state, describing it as "destroyed" and operating with significant losses. The admission came during a legislative interpellation session where Zamora addressed concerns over the airline's service quality and high fares.

Zamora explained that BoA's current predicament stems from two decades of mismanagement, including failure to update tariffs and a dwindling fleet. He noted that the government inherited only eight aircraft for a population of 12 million, leading to ongoing operational problems. The minister candidly discussed the difficulty of making financial projections for a company "in the red," but stressed that a recovery plan is underway, which has already involved changes in management.

Financial reports for 2025 and 2026 indicated no profits, attributed to a shortage of aircraft, scarcity of foreign currency, and other factors that have left the airline in "extensive therapy" for 20 years. However, Zamora firmly rejected any possibility of privatization, stating, "BoA will not be privatized, we are going to make it profitable based on a plan." He indicated that the government is considering a "public-private association" model, distinct from privatization, which will be evaluated once relevant regulations are in place.