Published on Thursday, June 13, 2024

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-headquartered airline, GOL, launched the first nonstop flights between Brazil and Costa Rica, the Institute of Tourism announced.

Beginning in November, new flights will connect Alajuela's Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) to São Paulo/Guarulhos-Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

The flights from SJO to GRU will depart from Costa Rica at 8:40 p.m. local time to arrive at GRU at 1:15 a.m. local time the next day. Then, from GRU, the flights will depart at 1:55 p.m. local time to arrive at SJO at 6:25 p.m. local time. Additional information about these flight schedules can be found on the airline website.

According to the Institute of Tourism, around 122,000 South American tourists flew to Costa Rica last year. More than 19,000 of these visitors came from Brazil.

Over 884,000 tourists arrived in the country via air between January and March 2024, representing a 16.8% rise over the same period in 2023, noted the tourism authorities.

The country reported a new tourism record reached in 2023, with more than 2,4 million travelers.

GOL is one of many international airlines increasing the frequency of their flights to Costa Rica.  Last week, the Texas-headquartered airline, Southwest, launched more flights between the U.S. and Costa Rica.

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