Avianca Check-In: Times, Boarding Pass and Rules

Avianca opens online check-in 48 hours before departure. The window is shorter for trips to or from the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, where the airline only activates the process twenty-four hours before departure.

Check-in closes 60 minutes before departure on international flights, and later, forty-five minutes before departure, on domestic flights. This deadline applies both online and at the airport, counters and kiosks included. Once it passes, the booking is no longer accessible and the passenger is treated as a latecomer.

If you requested a special service, Avianca recommends arriving at the counter an hour earlier than usual. These closing times refer to the flight's departure time, so check the exact schedule shown on your booking, since it can change after an itinerary modification.

To start check-in, Avianca asks for the booking code, a six-character string such as 3U2BW3, and the last name exactly as it appears on the booking. This code is at the top of the purchase confirmation email.

Before starting, keep your booking number, ID and any documents required by your destination close at hand. The airline suggests preparing them before beginning the process.

Check-in is also available through the Avianca app and on avianca.com from any device. Avianca flights operated under a wet lease by Wamos Air follow the usual process, through the website, the app or the counters.

On a mixed itinerary, the rule is clear: check in with the airline operating the first flight of the trip, which is not always the one that sold the ticket. A Bogota to Rio de Janeiro flight operated by Avianca followed by a Rio to Brasilia flight operated by GOL is checked in with Avianca for both legs, and the reverse applies on the way back. The same principle applies to other airlines, for instance Air Canada check-in on a flight connecting through Toronto, Aegean's process on a European connection, or ANA check-in for a Japanese leg. For a long-haul trip extended into South Asia, a leg handled by Air India also falls under that airline's own channels.

Once check-in is confirmed, Avianca provides the boarding pass in both digital and printable form. If you have already checked in and the boarding pass hasn't arrived, the airline suggests logging back in with your booking details and using the "View boarding passes" button.

At the airport kiosks, you can print the boarding pass and, if you're checking a bag, the tag to attach before dropping it at the designated points. Kiosks also let you add bags or choose a seat; if that isn't included in your fare, an extra charge applies and is paid to a service agent.

If the boarding pass shows no assigned seat, seat assignment is completed at the airport with ground staff, by presenting the pass obtained during check-in.

At the kiosks, you need to present a passport for an international flight or an ID card for a domestic flight at the airport kiosks as part of the process. It starts with the booking code, ticket number or frequent flyer number, and the kiosks are usually located in front of the counter rows.

The counter, on the other hand, is charged when the booking was eligible for online check-in and the passenger is travelling on a Basic or Light fare. Avianca publishes the following amounts, non-refundable and subject to change without notice:

Going to the counter remains mandatory in several cases: special assistance, special baggage, pets, minors, a flight operated by another airline, a pending change, an inability to complete the process for all passengers, or an immigration requirement to verify in person. Travellers of Indian nationality or from an African country connecting through El Salvador's international airport must also go to the counter at their departure airport, where the operator charges the airport improvement fee.

A few causes come up repeatedly. The most common is entering information that doesn't match the booking: the name and booking code must be entered exactly as shown in the confirmation email. Next comes timing, with check-in simply not yet activated for your flight.

Other blocks are structural:

• an operational change to the itinerary, such as an airport closure or unfavourable weather, delaying activation;
• another passenger on the same booking who has already completed the process;
• a pending itinerary change request, to be resolved with the airline;
• a booking subject to immigration document checks at the airport.

If an error message appears during online check-in, Avianca suggests taking a screenshot and showing it at the counter on the day of the flight, so the process can continue at no extra cost.

For a group booking, each passenger can check in individually as long as it hasn't already been done for the whole group; when several passengers share the same last name, separating them isn't always possible and the contact centre takes over. Online check-in can also be carried out by iBoardingPass, which then sends the boarding pass by email.