QCOSTARICA – American, Avianca, Copa, Delta, and Jet Blue are the five airlines currently including the “airport tax” or “exit tax” in the price of the ticket.
In the coming months, United Airlines (as of October 6), Air Panama (as of November 1), Aeromexico (as of November 1) and Air Canada (as of December 5) will be doing so also.
The “included” price is a time saver for travellers, especially at peak hours, like the early morning flights to the United States, when the lines to pay the airport tax reached outside the terminal door. It also eliminates the usual US$4 surcharge paid by many passengers at hotels authorized to collect the tax. And the need for visiting the local bank to pay the tax, to avoid the long lines at the airport.
The airport tax, currently US$29 dollars, is required paid by every passenger using the San Jose (Juan Santamaria – SJO) and Liberia (Daniel Oduber – LIR) airports. At most airports around the world, the airport tax has been included in the price of the ticket, Costa Rica was one of the few countries not doing so. Until now, though a bit behind schedule, the incorporating of the tax in the ticket was to have occurred late last year, then pushed to February of this year, but not actually in practice until last June 1.
With the inclusion of United, starting on October 6, the six airlines represent 85% of the traffic at the international airports in Costa Rica.
Bancredito, the bank that collects the tax for the State, says it will maintain a counter at the airports for any passenger whose ticket does not include the tax.
For flight arrivals and departures at the San Jose airport click here.
For flight arrivals and departures at the Liberia airport click here.
Source: Fly2sanjose.net, Bancredito
Now I wonder what Costa Rica is going to do with all the extra money with the employees that they don’t have to pay? What are they doing with the money now obviously not fixing roads. If you look at hundreds of thousands of dollars they collect at the airport everyday wonder where the money is going ? Not for road s..
I flew Delta 2 wks ago. I could find no line item that appeared to be the exit tax and the employees still wanted the form before I could proceed through the delta line. Can you get the exit form WITHOUT paying at the counter in the airport?