Peru’s Ministry of Transport (MTC) has authorized JetSMART Peru to commence operations, and the new ULCC could make its debut in the second quarter.

JetSMART Peru is part of a South American airline group that includes JetSMART Chile and JetSMART Argentina. JetSMART Chile made its debut in July 2017 followed by JetSMART Argentina in 2019. JetSMART is owned by ULCC specialist Indigo Partners, which is also invested in Frontier Airlines, Volaris and Wizz Air.

The company applied for its Peruvian air operator’s certificate in April 2021. Now that the airline has completed the regulatory process, MTC said JetSMART Peru is clear start operations in the current quarter.

According to MTC, JetSMART Peru’s domestic map could include Arequipa (AQP), Chiclayo (CIX), Cusco (CUZ), Iquitos (IQT), Juliaca (JUL), Lima (LIM), Pucallpa (PLC), Puerto Maldonado (PEM), ({{Piura PIU}}), Tarapoto (TPP) and Trujillo (TRU).

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Peru was a growing air transport market in Latin America. Data from MTC show domestic passengers carried in 2019 grew roughly 9% year-over-year to 14 million. International passenger growth was roughly 4% year-over-year for the same time period to 12.3 million.

In 2021, Peru’s domestic passenger levels reached 8 million, and international passenger counts were 3.4 million.

LATAM Airlines Peru remains the domestic market leader with a 65% share of passengers traveling within the country in January, according to MTC. Sky Airline Peru had a 20% share, followed by Viva’s roughly 8% share.