Trip Report: Clic Air ATR 72-600 from Medellin (MDE) to Armenia (AXM)

‍MEDELLIN — This report covers my experience aboard Clic Air flight AV 9254 from Jose Maria Cordova International Airport (MDE) to El Eden Airport (AXM) in Armenia, operated on May 31. Clic Air is a regional subsidiary of Avianca (AV), operating ATR turboprop aircraft on short domestic routes across Colombia.

The flight was a last-minute flight I booked the day of to visit friends in Salento, about an hour from Armenia.

Delay and communication

AV 9254 departed 50 minutes behind schedule, pushing back at 14:40 rather than the scheduled 13:50. No formal explanation was offered to waiting passengers.

The likely cause was a rotation delay: the aircraft appeared to have operated an earlier service to Bucaramanga that morning, and a late inbound on the first rotation of the day cascaded through the schedule, as is common in high-frequency turboprop operations.

The lack of communication from the gate was frustrating, however, and left passengers to draw their own conclusions.

Boarding

Boarding was via the rear airstair, which is standard on ATR operations. Passengers walked across the apron from the terminal and climbed the steps at the back of the aircraft. It is a tactile and unpretentious way to board, and one of the small pleasures of flying regional turboprops, even when the rest of the experience leaves something to be desired.

The cabin

The ATR 72-600 cabin is compact, arranged in a 2-2 configuration with a single aisle running the length of the fuselage. Seat 17A sits at the window on the left side toward the rear of the aircraft. The cabin was noticeably hot from the moment boarding began and did not improve meaningfully once the doors closed.

The air conditioning was not functioning effectively, and with a full complement of passengers, the temperature inside became uncomfortable before departure. It was the most significant complaint of the flight. No service was offered, consistent with the short sector length and low fare expectations for a domestic Colombian hop.

Flight

The routing from MDE to AXM is a short overland crossing through Colombia's coffee-growing interior, known as the Eje Cafetero. The sector is brief enough that cruise is limited, and the ATR 72 is well-suited to this kind of terrain and distance.

The weather was overcast for much of the flight, limiting visibility and views from 17A, though the green, rolling landscape of the Colombian countryside was visible through the cloud cover on approach.

Arrival in Armenia

AV 9254 arrived at El Eden Airport 53 minutes behind schedule. AXM is a small regional facility that serves the Armenia and Salento area, with limited infrastructure and a modest terminal.

The arrival experience reflected that scale: deplaning was directly onto the apron, the baggage process was quick by necessity, and the airport was quiet on arrival. The weather in Armenia was rainy, consistent with the broader cloud cover that had accompanied the crossing from Medellin.

Conclusion

AV 9254 was not a comfortable flight. The delay, the heat, and the lack of communication from the airline made for an experience that fell short of the standard set by Avianca's mainline services earlier in the same itinerary. That said, regional turboprop flying in Colombia serves a genuine purpose, connecting smaller cities across difficult terrain where the alternatives are slow road journeys.

Clic Air fills that role, and on a better day, with a functioning air-conditioning system, the short hop to Armenia would be a more forgiving experience. On this occasion, it was something to get through rather than enjoy.