Since American Airlines, Aeromexico, United Airlines and Spirit announced that they will delay their return to the country until April, local businessmen have given up hope that air connectivity will improve in the coming weeks.
Six international airlines operate in Nicaragua, but currently only Copa and Avianca are flying. The remaining four have postponed their return and according to their latest announcements, they would return until April.
After several months without arriving in the country due to the covid-19 outbreak, Copa Airlines will resume flights to Managua starting January 20 and will do so on a weekly basis.
The plans of the Panamanian airline is to operate during January a weekly frequency on Wednesdays, informed Carlos Schütze, vice president of the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur).
After the South American country decided to suspend flights to and from Venezuela by Copa Airlines, the Civil Aeronautical Authority of Panama cancelled flights from Venezuela.
Panama has been forced to cancel existing flights to Venezuelan airlines, in response to the same measure taken by that country and until equal and reciprocal treatment is reached in the frequency of flights, as corresponds by the air commercial agreement, explained the Civil Aeronautical Authority (CAA).
Restructuring of airlines, preference for direct flights, modifications in the routes operated and the use of smaller aircraft are some of the changes expected in the regional air market in the context of the new business normality.
Air traffic has virtually disappeared in the last three months, as governments in Central America have decided to close borders and suspend commercial flights to and from the region's airports as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
As part of the new international advertising campaign, the tourism sector in Panama expects visitor arrivals to increase by 125,000 tourists per year, who could generate annual revenues of close to $100 million.
The "Panama Stopover" campaign aims to take advantage of the competitive advantages that the country has, encouraging tourists who are in transit in the country to include in their itinerary an extended stop, which could be up to seven days at no additional cost in the airfare.
Beginning this week, Copa Airlines began operating the air route between the Panamanian capital and the city of Salta, in Argentina.
Representatives of the airline reported that Salta is the fifth destination that the company covers in the South American country, as they already have flights to Buenos Aires, Rosario, Cordoba and Mendoza.
Regarding the number of flights that Copa Airlines has between the Central American country and Argentina, Elcapitalfinanciero.com details that the airline operates a "... total of 51 weekly flights between the Hub of the Americas, in Panama City, and this South American country."
Avianca, United Airlines and Copa Airlines, signed a trade agreement that will allow them to agree flight routes in the American continent.
To ensure the commercial agreement reached on November 30th becomes effective, the three airlines plan to apply for regulatory approval and a complementary antitrust immunity (ATI) subsidy in the coming weeks from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and authorities in 19 Latin American countries.
The union of Nicaraguan businessmen has stated that starting from September, Copa Airlines will stop operating frequencies to Managua from San Jose, Costa Rica and Panama City.
According to the Superior Council of Private Enterprise in Nicaragua (Cosep), "...The affected flights are Managua - Panama, San José-Managua, Managua-San José and Panama-Managua, while the only route that the airline is keeping active is Managua-Guatemala, however, only Monday, Wednesday and Friday."
Terminal 2, whose opening is scheduled for next year, promises to improve conditions at the Panamanian airport, making it competitive with other hubs in Latin America.
The new Terminal 2, which is 92% complete, will have capacity to serve aircraft in 20 contact doors and 8 remote locations, taxiways, parking platform and aircraft circulation, adding up to pavement surface measuring more than 250,000 square meters.
Copa Airlines has announced that the investment includes the expansion of its training center for pilots and the purchase of new flight simulators.
Representatives from the airline said that with the investments they will make in the training center in Clayton, district of Panama, training will be provided for the handling of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, which will begin arriving in August.
Copa Airlines has started operating two weekly flights between Tocumen International Airport and the city of Bridgetown.
The Copa Airlines flight will depart from Panama on Tuesdays and Fridays, departing at 9:30 a.m. and arriving in Bridgetown at 2:00 p.m.The return flight will operate on the same days, leaving at 3:00 p.m.
In response to actions taken by the Maduro government, Panama will suspend cargo and passenger transport activities of Venezuelan airlines operating in the country for three months.
Immediately after the retaliation measures that the Varela administration intends to implement were made public, the Venezuelan government announced it will suspend economic relations with more companies in Panama and freeze their accounts, although they did not specify who those companies will be.
The suspension of the flights by the Panamanian airline to the South American country is one of the consequences of the political and commercial conflict that has arisen between the governments of Maduro and Varela.
Following the Maduro government's announcement of economic measures against Panama, which include the suspension of economic and commercial activities for a period of 90 days, including the suspension of Copa Airlines flights, the Panamanian airline announced that it will reimburse the value of the air tickets.See "Deterioration of Trade Relationship Between Panama and Venezuela"
Copa Airlines has started operating a route between the Argentine city and Panama City with four frequencies per week, and later this will be extended to seven weekly flights.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
With the departure of flight CM42O from Tocumen International Airport, on Wednesday, November 15, the first direct flight by the Panamanian airline Copa was inaugurated, which will cover the Panama-Mendoza route in Argentina.
The airlines claim there is a need to improve air traffic management at Tocumen airport, because "it is useless to have a new terminal if the planes cannot land."
Panama is at risk of losing competitiveness to other air hubs, such as Bogotá, if it does not take measures to reduce air congestion at Panama City's international airport, where 3 to 7 minutes delays are reported on flights, due to the fact that the number of air channels is not sufficient for the number of frequencies that operate there.