All U.S.-based airlines that served Costa Rica before the pandemic have resumed service to the Central American country or have plans to do so in the near future.
The last holdout, Southwest Airlines, on Monday announced its intention to re-start Costa Rica routes in June.
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 the details:
- Alaska: Resumed Costa Rica flights on November 20 to/from Los Angeles.
- American: Resumed Costa Rica flights on September 9 to/from Miami and Dallas. Resumed Charlotte flights on December 18.
- Delta: Resumed Costa Rica flights on November 2 to/from Atlanta. Resumed Los Angeles flights on December 17.
- Frontier: Will launch new routes to Costa Rica to/from Miami and Orlando in July 2021.
- JetBlue: Resumed Costa Rica flights on November 1 to/from Fort Lauderdale; on November 4 to/from Orlando; and on November 20 to/from New York. Inaugurated a Los Angeles route in December.
- Southwest: Will resume Costa Rica flights in June 2021.
- United: Offered repatriation flights throughout the pandemic and operates Costa Rica flights to/from Houston, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Launched new routes to/from Los Angeles and Denver.
Costa Rica has kept its airports open for tourists since November 1, 2020. 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 March, the latest available data. The figure represents the most monthly arrivals to Costa Rica since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began having a significant impact on international 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.