By the Caribbean Journal staff
The first direct commercial flight by COPA Airways to Jamaica arrived in Montego Bay this weekend, bringing approximately 150 passengers from Panama’s Tocumen International Airport.
The flight is part of a new twice-weekly service between Panama City and Montego Bay, and part of a wider expansion by COPA that will have added nine new destinations to its daily route network by the end of this year.
Panama is part of a Latin and Central American region that has been targeted by Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Ed Bartlett.
Bartlett said the Ministry had held discussions with several South American carriers, and chose COPA as the “best fit” for Jamaica.
The COPA flights will add another 10,000 airline seats for the upcoming winter tourism season.
“We are looking at a 4.7 percent projection for increase in arrivals, some 769,000 visitors,” he said.
Earlier this month, Jamaica’s cabinet approved a plan that would waive visas for travelers from another South American nation, Colombia, for the upcoming season.