Colombian professional athletes, including Egan Bernal and Nairo Quintana, will travel to Europe on Sunday on a special chartered flight for about 150 high-performance athletes.

Although all commercial flights to and from Colombia are banned at least until September as part of travel restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country, the government has allowed international athletes, including professional cyclists, to take charter flights from Bogota to Madrid and allowed to travel to Europe.

The Avianca flight, dubbed "Flight of Sport - Colombian Pride" by the Colombian government, will depart from Bogota airport at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 19. Passengers must undergo and pass a PCR coronavirus test prior to travel and will not be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Madrid. [Colombia's Minister of Sports, Ernesto Lucena Valero, said in a statement Tuesday evening (opens in new tab) that "athletes will arrive in Europe to fulfill their competition schedule, which is the basis for the growth of athletes affected in the first half of the year by the COVID-19 pandemic. .

According to AS Colombia (opens in new tab), athletes are asked to arrive at the Bogota airport three hours before departure.

"The players must arrive on time wearing face masks. They must continue to wear masks throughout the flight and change them every four hours," said Juan Diego Zapata of Avianca Airlines. The players will be limited in terms of food and entertainment on the plane, so we ask that they bring their own ideas." As for the meals, they will be very basic and sealed."

"It is important to point out that at each stage of the flight, all health measures required by the World Health Organization (WHO) and national governments as well as IATA (International Air Transport Association) recommendations are followed."

Colombian professional cyclists will participate in the flight along with athletes from many other disciplines, including soccer, volleyball, fencing, and judo.

Egan Bernal (Ineos), winner of the 2019 Tour de France, will resume his season at La Route d'Occitanie (August 1-4), before defending his title at La Grand Boucle, which begins August 29 in Nice, the Tour de Ain and the Criterium du Dauphiné.

Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) returned to training this week after a training crash and will ride the Tour de l'Ain and Dauphiné in preparation for the Tour.

Richard Calapaz (Ineos) was initially reportedly investigating the possibility of traveling to Europe on a Colombian charter flight, but the 2019 Giro d'Italia winner and fellow Ecuadorian will instead return to Europe directly from his country. Calapaz was scheduled to fly from Quito to Madrid on Wednesday.