New flight from Costa Rica to Managua
Cinthia Membreño | Mar 4, 2011
The Costa Rican airline Nature Air re-opened operations in Nicaragua after inaugurating, on March 3rd, a direct flight between the city of Liberia (Costa Rica) and Managua. The inaugurating flight brought a group of businessmen and journalists to the country, so they could give a press conference at the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (MGA), located outside the capitol.
Alex Khajavi, president of the company, explained that the reopening of flights between the two countries - which used to operate from San José to Liberia and the city of Granada - is a sign of friendship not only between Nicaragua and the company, but also between the two governments. According to Khajavi, Nicaragua's credibility and its growing number of tourists were the main reasons to start working again.
Carlos Soto, Nature Air's general manager, said that the flights will land in the country four days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). The will leave from Liberia at 2:30 pm and from Managua at 4:00 pm. Also, the company hopes to have daily flights in the near future and a bigger airplane working for this route. "The plane ticket costs US$55 (one way) and our capacity is 19 passengers, 36 for a roundtrip," he stated,
Mario Salinas, president of the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (INTUR), expressed that this alliance will bring a greater number of visitors. "The number of visitors coming from Costa Rica to Nicaragua increased on a 19% (126,000 people) between 2009 and 2010. We are interested in turning this area into a solid international tourist destination," he informed while talking about the impact that this company will have on the country.
In addition, Nature Air's general manager informed that the company invested US$100,000 to open the new route. "We hope to have at least 70% of our occupancy," he expressed. In addition to the connecting flight to Managua, there are others between the city of San José and Bocas del Toro (Panama), in addition to other ecological tourist destinations within Costa Rica.
Translated by Cinthia Membreño