By the Caribbean Journal staff

Another important carrier is plotting its return to St Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport.

Panama-based carrier Copa Airlines will resume flights to St Maarten on June 2, the company announced.

Copa had suspended operations to St Maarten in September 2017 in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Copa will be operating two weekly flights from Panama City to St Maarten, with flights running from on Mondays and Saturdays.

“Copa Airlines always trusted that St. Maarten and its inhabitants would recover from the effects of Hurricane Irma. With the restart of our operations to the island, the economic, commercial and tourist reactivation of both St Maarten and other surrounding areas will be promoted,” said Christophe Didier, vice president of sales for Copa Airlines. “Since we started flying to St. Maarten almost eight years ago, this island has become one of the preferred destinations for our passengers to vacation in the Caribbean.”

Copa is an important connection point to the Caribbean for many travelers from Latin America.

Copa said it would also begin new promotion efforts of St Maarten, St Martin and nearby Anguilla.