European airlines plan to increase flights to Costa Rica, ICT says

The sight of a long-haul jetliner arriving in Costa Rica from Europe may soon become even more common.

The seven airlines that fly non-stop to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) from Europe have been pleased with demand and hope to increase their offerings to Costa Rica, the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) said Saturday.

“In 2006, Costa Rica had a single indirect flight to Europe, and today, there are eight airlines offering flights between the old continent and Costa Rica,” said the Minister of Tourism, María Amalia Revelo. “This is evidence of the great leap that our country has taken as a result of its strategy to attract airlines.”

The announcement came following ICT’s participation in the ITB Berlin, a worldwide travel-industry convention that ended March 10. Revelo met with representatives from Lufthansa (Germany), KLM (the Netherlands), Air France, Edelweiss (Switzerland) and Condor (Germany).

ICT says that in 2018, 414,722 people arrived to Costa Rica from Europe via air. The number marked a 7.6 percent increase over 2017.

In January 2019, Costa Rica received 248,754 international arrivals by air, an increase of 9.2 percent compared to the same month last year, according to ICT. Of that total, 45,643 were Europeans, 4.2 percent more than in January of 2018.

“These figures commit us both to the public sector and the private sector to continue working hand-in-hand for the sustainability and quality of the tourism product we offer for the benefit and progress of the communities that live in this industry,” Revelo said.

The following airlines serve Costa Rica with direct flights from Europe:

• Air France (from France)
• British Airways (from England)
• Condor (from Germany, with a layover in the Dominican Republic)
• Edelweiss Air (from Switzerland)
• Iberia (from Spain)
• KLM (from the Netherlands)
• Lufthansa (from Germany)
• TUI (from England)

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