Avianca-Taca drops five nonstop flights to Costa Rica, lays off 261 employees

Colombian-based airline Avianca TACA announced Friday it is eliminating five nonstop flights to Costa Rica, which means the dismissal of 261 employees in the country.

The measure applies for flights between San José and Los Angeles, New York, Havana, Quito and Guayaquil.

The company said the changes would not mean increases in ticket prices, and it promised to increase the number of daily flights.

Costa Rican operations will be handled by 1,000 employees after the layoffs, meaning the company laid off 20 percent of its local staff.

The airline stated the changes were needed because the company “is seeking to be more competitive and profitable.”

Alos, beginning May 28, the trademark TACA will disappear and the airline will be identified only as Avianca, as the company had previously announced last October.

Customers with questions about tickets already purchased to these destinations can call the airline at 2299-8222 or go to the airline website: www.taca.com.

A full list of cancelled flights can be found here.