Copa Airlines announced this week that it will reactivate operations to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten / St Martin starting on 2nd June.
The route had been temporarily suspended in September 2017 due to the effects caused by Hurricane Irma. The airline from Panama will resume operations with two weekly flights and will increase the frequencies during the high season. The route to St. Maarten will depart from Panama on Monday and Saturday under the code CM134, with departure time at 7:24 a.m. and arrival at 11:30 a.m. (St. Maarten time), while the CM133 flight back will operate on Mondays and Saturdays with departure time at 12:29 p.m. and arrival at 2:46 p.m. (Panama time).
“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," Didier added.
With the restart of operations to St. Maarten, Copa Airlines reaffirms its commitment to economic reactivation and the commercial and tourist development of the Caribbean, a region that Copa attended with humanitarian flights transporting food, equipment, medicines and essential products after the Impact of Hurricane Irma.
"For many years, Copa Airlines has literally been our connecting bridge to Central and South America. The return to St. Maarten of this valued airline is very important for the recovery of our country, and shows that St. Maarten is recovering and that it is workable to reactivate the destination", said Rolando Brison, acting director of the Tourism Bureau of St. Maarten. "We hope that thousands of people will use Copa Airlines to visit St. Maarten, one of the most beautiful and unique destinations in the Caribbean, and we thank Copa Airlines for believing in the country and the people of St. Maarten," added Brison.
Together with the tourism authorities of St. Maarten, Saint Martin and Anguilla, Copa Airlines will begin the promotion of the islands, with the aim of reactivating visitors to this wonderful area of the Caribbean, which will be connected to more than 60 cities in South, Central and North America thanks to the airline's network of destinations.
The island of St. Maarten is shared by Holland (St. Maarten) and France (Saint Martin) and offers its visitors more than 37 beaches considered among the best in the world, a colonial architecture, extensive cuisine and a dynamic nightlife. From St. Maarten, tourists can easily transport themselves to other islands such as St. Eustatius, Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Kits and Nevis, as well as the British Virgin Islands. Additionally, a ferry service allows you to reach neighbouring islands such as Anguilla (35 minutes by catamaran), one of the most exclusive and preferred destinations for tourists in the Caribbean Sea.
