Copa Airlines will add its fifth route between Mexico and Panama starting in December with a flight to Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, while the return to Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) will remain suspended .
Mauro Arredondo, the airline’s general manager in Mexico, explained that the lack of aircraft motivated the pause at AIFA , however, its freighter does arrive in Santa Lucía.
“At AIFA, operations were temporarily suspended. We suspended them a few months ago, that’s the status, and we plan to eventually resume those operations. This was due to an issue with the delivery of equipment (aircraft) from the manufacturer; we experienced some delays,” he explained.
In an interview with T21, he pointed out that the freighter transports a variety of goods not only from Panama but also from various Latin American countries . He explained that they handle medicines, agricultural products, among other goods.
“It’s a business that’s growing and consolidating. We have a dedicated freighter that’s an example of how demand for cargo, not just passengers, has been increasing in parallel,” he explained.
Arredondo stated that not having more aircraft is one of the main constraints to increasing their cargo capacity to the country. They currently have 102 aircraft and expect to close this year with 114 aircraft.
Copa Airlines operates six daily flights to and from Mexico City International Airport (AICM) , “for now, what we want is to consolidate the capacity we’ve increased.”
In addition to this operation, they also arrive in Cancún, Quintana Roo; Guadalajara, Jalisco; Monterrey, Nuevo León; and, starting December 4, Los Cabos, Baja California Sur.
“Whenever possible, we will seek new opportunities and provide greater connectivity to the Mexican market, which remains very important for Copa,” Arredondo said.
He stated that the airline has now recovered its pre-COVID-19 pandemic capacity in the Mexican market, “even more, we are operating more frequencies, and we are growing as the industry does.”
On August 12, Copa Airlines held the Panama Caravan in Mexico , seeking to promote Panama’s tourism offerings. Among the travelers were hoteliers, car rental companies, and others, who interacted with retail and wholesale travel agents, as well as event and convention organizers.
“We brought Panama’s entire tourism offering. We want them to be up-to-date on how the market has changed in terms of experiences, beaches, culture, and cuisine. We’re also promoting Copa Airlines’ extensive connectivity between countries,” he emphasized.
He specified that the caravan will also be in Monterrey and Guadalajara, cities where the airline has increased its frequencies.
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