Travelers flying between Canada and Costa Rica’s Pacific coast will have more options outside the traditional high season. Guanacaste Airport in Liberia (LIR) says the Toronto–Guanacaste route will operate all year in 2026 instead of stopping when peak season ends. The year-round service is tied to Porter Airlines’ Toronto (YYZ) operations into Liberia, which began in December 2025 as a seasonal route. After what airport officials described as strong early results, the airline opted to extend the service through the rest of the year.
Based on the airline timetable shared by Guanacaste Airport and Costa Rica media outlets, the Toronto–Liberia service will run twice a week during the lower-demand months from May through October, with flights on Wednesdays and Sundays. During the high season from November through April, the route is expected to increase to an average of six flights per week. Flights are planned on Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, a narrow-body jet used on medium-haul routes.
The Toronto route is part of a broader push to deepen Canada connectivity at Liberia’s Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport. Guanacaste Airport currently lists six direct routes linking the province with Canadian cities: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Calgary. Airport and tourism officials say that gives Liberia the largest set of direct Canada routes in Costa Rica.
One of the newer additions has been the Ottawa–Guanacaste service, described as the first direct air link between Costa Rica and Canada’s capital.
Costa Rica’s Tourism Minister William Rodríguez framed the expanded Toronto operations as part of joint work between the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and Guanacaste Airport to grow the Canadian market, which officials describe as the country’s second-largest source of air visitors after the United States. ICT figures cited by local outlets put Canada’s 2025 air arrivals at 260,347 travelers.
For Guanacaste, the timing is significant. The May–October period is Costa Rica’s “green season,” when hotels often discount rates and beach towns are less crowded, but international airlift typically drops. Guanacaste Airport general manager César Jaramillo said the extended Toronto service should add seat availability during those months and reinforce the preference of Canadian travelers to enter Costa Rica through Liberia.
The year-round change does not mean daily summer flights. The May–October schedule is expected to be limited to two weekly frequencies, with the major ramp-up reserved for November–April.
For visitors headed to beach destinations in Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, Liberia’s airport remains the closest international gateway, cutting down on ground travel compared with flying into San José and driving northwest. For Costa Rica-based residents and expats, the extra shoulder-season capacity may also translate into more date options for Canada trips without routing through U.S. hubs, depending on fares and availability as airlines publish schedules.
