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).
Because only two airlines currently operate in Nicaragua and there is no certainty when other companies will reactivate their flights, entrepreneurs in the tourism sector remain uncertain.
Due to the covid-19 outbreak, the country was left without an air connection, as the airlines decided to suspend their operations due to the low number of travelers who were willing to travel in this context of the pandemic.
Due to the alert that health authorities have issued for the appearance of a new SARS-CoV-2 strain and in line with the decision made by El Salvador, the governments of Panama and Guatemala will also ban the entry of people from the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Due to the new variant of Covid-19, the National Operation Center decided to temporarily suspend as of 11:59 p.m.
When the pandemic began, interest among Central Americans in travel agency and other tourism-related services dropped significantly, and although it rebounded in mid-May, in recent weeks it has again reported a downward trend.
Through a system that monitors in real time changes in consumer interests and preferences in Central American countries, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for different products, sectors and markets operating in the region.
In Central American countries, nearly 8 million people are looking for travel packages online, and of this consumer segment, about 5% explore options for travel to destinations in North America.
CentralAmericaData's interactive information system monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets of the region, with fundamental information to understand the current commercial environment in which companies of all industries must operate.
In the context of the economic reopening, it was announced that as of October 15, Costa Rican air terminals will begin to receive flights carrying citizens from Central America and Panama.
Due to the covid-19 outbreak, air transport between Costa Rica and the other countries in the region has been interrupted since March. Seven months later, authorities removed the restriction and airlines will be able to begin operating these flights.
As part of the reopening of borders and the revival of commercial flights, the European Union did not include any country in the region in its initial list of markets authorized to resume commercial flights.
Because of the covid-19 outbreak, commercial flights continue to be suspended in all Central American countries; however, it is expected that in the coming weeks restrictions will be lifted and airports in the region will begin to normalize their operations.
Since March 17th Avianca suspended all its flights to and from El Salvador, and United Airlines announced that as of April 1st it will no longer fly to Nicaragua.
In accordance with the directives of the government of El Salvador, all Avianca flights to and from that country are suspended from March 17 at midnight, the airline reported.
The closure of El Salvador's airport will last 15 days, which may be extended in accordance with the evolution of the pandemic, according to the document issued by Avianca.
Due to lack of demand, the airline Iberia has decided to postpone the start of the direct air flight between the Spanish capital and Managua, which was scheduled to start in October of this year.
The airline said that "... it will maintain connections with the Nicaraguan capital via other airports, but it is suspending the direct route because the levels of demand necessary to make it effective have not been reached."
Due to the political crisis that has been going on in the country for almost four months, the airlines American Airlines, Delta, United and Spirit, have decided to reduce the number of flights to Managua.
Representatives from the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) reported that American Airlines went from having three flights a day to one and Delta Airlines from three flights a week to one.
In May, 34,400 foreign tourists arrived in the country by air, almost 40% less than in the same month last year.
The political and social crisis that the country is experiencing continues to cause havoc in the Nicaraguan economy, with tourism being one of the most affected sectors.According to statistics from the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur), in April, the month in which the crisis began, there was a year-on-year decrease of 16% in the number of visitors that entered by air, falling from 60,116 to 50,450.
The Mexican airline Volaris will be suspending its services as of July 1, and the luxury resort hotel Mukul, in Guacalito, has announced the indefinite closure of its operations.
The crisis that has been going on in the country for the last month continues to harm the tourism business sector.The airline Volaris reported that it will temporarily suspend services to Managua from next week, and the luxury hotel Mukul Auberge Resorts Collection, in the South Pacific, announced on Friday that it will close its operations indefinitely.
The union of Nicaraguan businessmen has reported that airlines may be interested in establishing flights between Costa Rica and the touristic city of Granada in Nicaragua.
The President of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), José Adán Aguerri, told Elnuevodiario.com.ni that the airlines who may be interested are carrying out an evaluation process and are review of the subject.
In the last four years the number of international commercial flights that arrived in the country has grown by 26%, while the number of passengers went up 25% in the same period.
Statistics from Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales (EAAI) show that while in 2013 the country received 6,356 international commercial flights with 549,000 passengers, last year these figures rose to 8,032 flights and 674,000 passengers.
Tourism entrepreneurs attribute the lack of interest in the airport to the scarcity of hotels on the Nicaraguan island and lack of public infrastructure.
La Paloma Airport was presented as an opportunity to increase the flow of tourists and improve the economy in the area but three years after it started operations, only one airline is operating two flights per week to the terminal.