Flights by American Airlines to Nicaragua have again been postponed as the airline announced that January 4th 2022 is the earliest date they will be flying into Managua (MGA).
Lucy Valenti, the President of CANATUR (National Chamber of Tourism) broke the news earlier this week with her comments that American Airlines have cancelled plans to resume flights to Nicaragua this year (now confirmed) and her concern that the United Airlines planned October 30th return could be in jeopardy.
CANATUR has again asked the Government of Nicaragua to review the Covid-19 requirements for airlines and passengers when entering Nicaragua. This is something that has been consistently quoted as a determining factor in the decision by American and United Airlines not to return to regularly scheduled flights into the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua.
More Flights to Liberia, Costa Rica
Meanwhile, there is some good news with United Airlines recently announced a 30% increase in (pre-covid) winter season flight frequencies to Central and South America, including flights to; Liberia in Costa Rica (Guanacaste Aeropuerto LIR), Belize City in Belize, Cozumel in Mexico and Nassau in the Bahamas.
Background
Since the re-introduction of scheduled international flights in and out of Nicaragua Augusto C. Sandino International Airport after July 14th of 2020, Avianca Airlines and their service from Miami, USA and San Salvador, El Salvador have been the main provider of flights to Nicaragua.
Copa Airlines resumed scheduled flights in January 2021 with a Managua flight from their hub in Panama City, Panama and Aeroméxico joined them in July 2021 with scheduled flights from Mexico City to Managua.
Since resuming services, all three airlines have increased flight frequencies to Managua (MGA by its IATA Code).
Meanwhile, the other three; American, United and Spirit Airlines (the fourth being Delta who declared themselves out a long time ago) have been publishing various tentative dates for the return of flights to the Central American country. Each time those dates were canceled.
Spirit has made no formal announcement lately about their return but do show Managua flights from Newark and Miami in January 2022
It should be noted that the COVID-19 rules implemented by the Nicaraguan government through INAC, the Nicaraguan Civil Aeronautics Institute are no different for any of the airlines or passengers and are therefore the same rules that Avianca Airlines, Copa Airlines and Aeroméxico all fly by.
