All U.S. airlines have resumed flights to Costa Rica
Southwest Airlines was the last holdout.
All United States-based airlines that served Costa Rica before the pandemic have now resumed service to the Central American country.
The last holdout, Southwest Airlines, on Sunday returned to Costa Rica with flights to Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) and Liberia International Airport (LIR).
“We feel full of hope for the reactivation of Southwest Airlines’ operations to our two main airports,” said Gustavo Segura, Costa Rica’s Tourism Minister.
“The United States represents approximately 70% of our international travelers, which is why the arrival of this airline is extremely significant to add to the generation of tourism employment.”
While some airlines are offering fewer flights than they did pre-pandemic, others have launched new routes or new service entirely. One highlight is Frontier Airlines, which will fly to Costa Rica starting in July after several years’ absence.
Here are all the details:
Alaska: Resumed Costa Rica flights to/from Los Angeles.
American: Resumed Costa Rica flights to/from Miami, Dallas, Charlotte and New York.
Delta: Resumed Costa Rica flights to/from Atlanta, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
Frontier: Will launch new routes to Costa Rica to/from Miami and Orlando in July 2021.
JetBlue: Resumed Costa Rica flights to/from Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and New York. Inaugurating a Los Angeles route in June.
Southwest: Resumed Costa Rica flights from Houston on June 6, and from Baltimore/Washington on June 12.
Spirit: Resumed Costa Rica flights from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
Sun Country: Offered its seasonal flights to/from Minneapolis in late 2020 and early 2021.
United: Offered repatriation flights throughout the pandemic and operates Costa Rica flights to/from Houston, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Denver.
Still, the news isn’t all positive. Last week, the United Kingdom announced Costa Rica will be added to its “red list,” which includes travel restrictions.
Costa Rica has kept its airports open for tourists since last November. Visitors must complete an epidemiological form (“Health Pass”) and purchase health insurance covering Covid-19 in Costa Rica. For full entry requirements, click here.
Costa Rica welcomed nearly 90,000 international arrivals this April, the latest available data. The figure represents the most monthly arrivals to Costa Rica since March 2020, though it’s still a massive decrease compared to pre-pandemic travel.
Tourism is one of Costa Rica’s principal economic drivers. Before the pandemic, it contributed to 8.2% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and created 9% of the nation’s jobs, according to the Tourism Board.
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