Copa Airlines adding daily flight

Panama-based Copa Airlines is adding a third daily flight between its hub and the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina starting June 22, an expansion that is expected to attract 34,000 visitors to the island in a year and generate an economic impact of more than $20 million.
So said Economic Development and Commerce Secretary José Pérez-Riera Thursday, adding the carrier’s move will benefit both leisure and commercial travel.
“Copa Airlines has historically been one of the main connections between Puerto Rico and Latin America, with two daily flights to Panama, resulting in a great partner for both our tourism industry and to our foreign trade,” he said.
This new frequency will add 94 seats daily to Puerto Rico, or 658 seats per week, connecting the island with major cities in Latin America, specifically nine cities in Colombia, which is the second most important destination in South America to Puerto Rico, producing 22,000 visitors to the island each year.
“Tourism growth is strengthened by the arrival of the new Copa Airlines flight to San Juan, which is an ideal connection point to expand Puerto Rico’s capacity as a destination and attract more tourists from countries with emerging economies such as Brazil, among other Latin American countries, and position ourselves as the best tourist destination in the Caribbean,” said Tourism Company Executive Director Luis Rivera-Marín.