By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company is reporting that Southwest Airlines will continue to expand its presence on the island.

The announcement came from the interim Executive Director of PRTC, Carlos Campos.

Two routes to San Juan’s Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in particular will see an increase in frequencies between June 6 and Aug. 6, 2018, compared to the same period last year.

The first is service from Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport to, increased from eight to nine weekly flights.

Chicago Midway International Airport will increased from one to seven weekly flights, with the route operating daily.

The weekly Southwest flight operated at Newark Liberty International Airport during this period in 2017 will not operate in 2018, although it “could resume in the future.”

Both JetBlue and United Airlines will continue to operate flights between EWR and SJU, according to the PRTC.

Altogether, Southwest will operate between 16 and 19 daily flights to SJU during this period.

“Over the past year, Southwest Airlines has consistently shown a tendency to increase their presence on our island extending their itineraries,” Campos said. “The announcement of expansion of Southwest fills us with satisfaction as evidence that airlines continue to rely on our destiny and we are well advanced in the process of recovery after Hurricane Mary.”

It is estimated that the changes made by Southwest will result in the arrival of about 2,300 additional visitors to the island compared to the same period last year, with an economic impact of approximately $2,200,000.00.

“We thank Southwest for this trust and commitment under the administration of Governor Ricky Rosselló, and we will continue working hard so that both Southwest and other airlines continue to expand its presence in Puerto Rico,” he said.