Local authorities confirm that sanitary measures for the entry and exit of passengers have already been approved, and so far the plan is to reopen the Juan Santamaría and Daniel Oduber international airports as of August 1.
Civil aviation officials confirm that the first flights that would be authorized to arrive at the air terminal in the Costa Rican capital would come from the U.S., Canada and Europe.
The airline began to apply for permits, and is expected to start operating flights from Europe to the Central American country next year.
Authorities of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of Costa Rica confirmed that last October 7 the company submitted its application to obtain the Certificate of Exploitation of Foreign Operator.
In order to regain Costa Rica's air safety status, which was downgraded in May, the Federal Aviation Administration requested 22 amendments, of which 17 have already been completed.
After the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted a reevaluation in October 2018 and met with Costa Rica's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) in February 2019 to analyze the results, the final opinion lowered the rating from Category 1 to Category 2.
Because of "the lack of the necessary laws or regulations to supervise airlines in accordance with minimum international standards," new services from companies licensed from Costa Rica to the U.S. will not be allowed to be established.
In 1996, Costa Rica was assigned an initial Category 1 rating when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determined that the country's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) complied with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for aviation safety oversight.
Almost a year after the regulation for the commercial use of drones entered into force in the country, there are only four companies registered with the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.
Since February 14th, 2018, companies using drones for commercial purposes in Costa Rica must pay $1,874 to obtain the exploitation certificate. So far, few companies in this business have initiated the permit process.
It has been announced that starting from August 20 companies interested in developing an environmental feasibility study for the new Metropolitan Airport of Costa Rica, to be built in Orotina, may present their proposals.
Civil Aviation Authorities reported that the reference value for the environmental feasibility study of the air terminal is $1.1 million.
Transporte Aéreos Guatemaltecos has started processing permits to fly to Costa Rica, and according to the authorities, it could take up to six months to complete the process and be able to operate.
Without providing details of the types of routes that the airline Transportes Aéreos Guatemaltecos (TAG) intends to operate, Costa Rican authorities stated that the approval process is in phase 2.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation has once again suspended, this time indefinitely, the operating permit for the company Nature Air.
Following the accident that occured in Guanacaste in December 2017, in January the General Directorate of Civil Aviation decided to temporarily suspend flights, arguing that due to problems in the company's administrative structure, they could not guarantee the safety of their operations.Although 15 days later they lifted the suspension and gave authorization for it to resume operations, the company failed to do so.
A contract has been awarded to a French-Spanish consortium to carry out the location study and master plan for the new airport in the Huetar Norte Zone.
From a statement issued by the President of Costa Rica:
February 9, 2018.The studies that will determine the feasibility of a New Airport for the Huetar Norte Zone are already underway, thanks to a contribution from the Central American Corporation of Air Navigation Services (COCESNA), of 228 million colones.
The Directorate of Civil Aviation has suspended flights by Nature Air, arguing that due to problems in the administrative structure of the company, it can not guarantee the safety of its operations.
"...According to Ennio Cubillo, executive director of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC), the measure was taken due to the resignation of the operations manager, the incapacity license of the air safety chief, ... and the death of the head of pilot training, Juan Manuel Retana."
In 2018, $13 million will be invested in improvements at the airports of Puerto Jiménez, Palmar Sur, Upala, Guápiles, Pérez Zeledón and Barra de Tortuguero.
Among the works that will be carried out in the airports are the resurfacing of runways, improvements in the infrastructure at the airport terminals, installation of perimeter fences, among other things.
The new regulation establishes that companies that use drones for commercial purposes must have a certificate of exploitation, whose cost could be around $1,500.
The regulation published by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) was published on June 8 in the newspaper La Gaceta, and will come into effect on August 13 this year.
In 2016 1,182,123 tourists used the Daniel Oduber airport, 33% more than in 2015, generating an average per capita expenditure of $130 per day.
According to estimates by Coriport, the airport management company,"... from Fridays to Mondays the Daniel Oduber airport receives between 30 and 33 flights per day, while between Tuesdays and Thursdays at least 18 arrive there. On average those passengers stay in Costa Rica for nine days and spend about $130 per day."
Favoured by the poor state of road infrastructure domestic airlines have reported increases of over 20% in the number of passengers they transported between 2014 and this year.
The poor state of the road infrastructure in the country is one of the main reasons behind the increase in the number of passengers on domestic flights operated by airlines such as Sansa and Nature Air.
The government affects the activity with bureaucratic costs of more than $3,500 for companies who want to use drones.
While in the US there is an online registration process where companies and individuals pay only $5, in Costa Rica the Directorate General of Civil Aviation does not seem to be interested in encouraging the market. An investigation of Elfinancierocr.com reveals that $1,874 has to be paid to obtain certification and to commercially operate the drones, plus $94 per license, an insurance policy for liability and damage to third parties (which is around $1,800), and a course taken whose price varies depending on the school teaching it.
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