(QCOSTARICA) The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Tourism Board – clarified the authorization for the arrival of passenger flights to Costa Rica’s main international airports, the Juan Santamaria (SJO) in San Jose and Daniel Oduber (LIR), in Liberia, Guanacaste, starting August 1, 2020.
Included int he authorization is also the regional airport Tobias Bolaños (SQY), located in Pavas.
- Citizens and residents of the European Union (Schengen Area): Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
- Citizens and residents of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).
- Citizens and residents of Canada.
Although the authorization includes the aforementioned regions and countries, in practice, it remains exactly the same as reported; that is to say, the reopening will begin with travelers boarding in Frankfurt, Germany, and Madrid, Spain.
These flights will be the first to be received at the San Jose international airport after meeting the requirements already detailed in a press conference:
- Complete a COVID test 48 hours prior to travel to Costa Rica.
- Complete a digital epidemiology form prior to arrival. You can have access to the online form by clicking here.
- Obtain Travel Insurance in case the traveler is infected by COVID to cover medical costs or travel costs related to deal with the infection and or quarantine.
Masks and social distancing and other sanitary protocols will be enforced at international airports,
Also, starting from August 1, foreigners with permanent residence, temporary residence, or special categories can fly out of Costa Rica and then return without affecting their immigration status, provided they do so by the authorized route, that is, the airports (for now) and from the authorized countries.
For now, only the airports are authorized to receive international passengers, the land borders with Nicaragua and Panama remain closed.
