(QCOSTARICA) The Dutch airline KLM announced that it would resume direct flights to Costa Rica starting next month, while Air France and Edelweiss are expected to start October 31 and November 1, respectively.
KLM foresees the reactivation of its operations in the country on October 27 with a stopover at Juan Santamaría(SJO) and final destination at Daniel Oduber (LIR), in Liberia, Guanacaste; explained Álvaro Vargas Segura, director of Civil Aviation.
According to that airline, it will fly four times a week to Costa Rica, as it did pre-pandemic, that is before the suspension of international flights due to the closure of air borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the projections come to fruition, there would be 10 additional flights per week, between KLM, Air France and Edelweiss, from Europe starting in October.
Currently, only Iberia and Lufthansa, with multiple flights a week each, have resumed regular service to Costa Rica.
More: Which airlines are resuming flights to Costa Rica?
Lufthansa began operations in August with two flights per week (Wednesdays and Saturdays) from Frankfurt (FRA), the same as Iberia with three arrivals (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) from Madrid (MAD).
KLM began flying four days a week between Amsterdam-Schiphol and Juan Santamaría in October last year with an intermediate landing before flying to Daniel Oduber Airport.
This type of travel offers travelers the possibility of choosing two possible routes to come to Costa Rica, which represents a saving of time in land transportation. Whether they first choose Guanacaste and the Pacific coast or more mountain destinations and adventure tourism in the Central Valley.
For its return to the country, KLM plans flights for Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays from Schiphol airport (AMS).
The flights would be operated again with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with 30 seats in Business Class, 45 seats in special economy class and 219 seats in economy class.
The Royal Dutch Aviation Company (KLM) was founded in 1919 and is the oldest airline in the world operating under its original name. In 2004, Air France and KLM merged to form the Air France-KLM Group.
More: Costa Rica opens air borders to tourists from Mexico and Jamaica; Ohio added to U.S. list
Change of dates
Air France, KLM’s sister company, postponed the reactivation of flights to Costa Rica for almost two weeks, to October 31, with three direct flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from the Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG).
Flights were originally scheduled for October 14.
The Swiss airline Edelweiss also pushed back its original date, as it was for last month. Now it would be from November 1, if there are no more changes.
Edelweiss would fly three times a week (Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays) from Zurich (ZRH).
