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HomeNewsCosta RicaUnited Airlines increases Costa Rica repatriation flights, including from Liberia International Airport

United Airlines increases Costa Rica repatriation flights, including from Liberia International Airport

The United States Embassy has coordinated with United Airlines and Spirit Airlines to offer repatriation flights from Costa Rica throughout July.

For the first time since Costa Rica closed its borders to arriving tourists, some of the flights will operate from Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste.

In addition, United Airlines will offer daily weekday flights between Juan Santamaría International Airport and Houston through July 17.

Below are details from the U.S. Embassy:

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The U.S. Embassy in San Jose and the U.S. State Department have coordinated with Spirit Airlines to offer commercial repatriation flights from Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO) in San Jose, Costa Rica, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (FLL) on Wednesday, July 8 and Wednesday, July 15.  These flights will depart SJO at 1:00pm and arrive at FLL at 6:10pm.  Please visit www.spirit.com for more information.  

United Airlines will now offer daily commercial repatriation flights from Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO) in San Jose, Costa Rica to Houston, Texas (IAH) through July 17.  These flights will take place once daily on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday through July 17.  Please visit www.United.com for details on pricing and flight times.  

United Airlines has added one flight a week from Daniel Oduber Quiros Airport in Liberia (LIR) to Houston (IAH).  These flights will take place on July 10, July 17, July 24, and July 31.  Please visit www.United.com for details on pricing and flight times.     

These flights are open to public booking but seats are limited.  The U.S. Embassy is not able to assist with arranging onward travel from Ft. Lauderdale or Houston.  Policies regarding luggage allowances and seating arrangements will be managed by Spirit and United Airlines.

Please visit www.spirit.com or www..united.com for further information regarding availability and connections.  The cost of these flights will be based on the passenger’s final destinations.  These prices are set by Spirit and United Airlines.    

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Costa Rican citizens or permanent residents who last left the country before March 26 can book tickets for flights from the United States to SJO through the airlines. Arriving passengers will be issued a 14-day home isolation order.

At this time, the United Airlines flights from Houston to Libera (LIR) are not available for booking on the airline’s website. (You may be able to purchase a ticket if you contact United directly; however, the Health Ministry has previously said that arriving repatriation flights must use SJO for logistical purposes.)

Click here for information from SJO about planned flights to/from Costa Rica in upcoming months.

Costa Rica plans to reopen its borders to tourists from select countries on August 1.

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