Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), which serves the city of Liberia in Costa Rica, received almost a dozen new flights from the United States and Canada in November.
Liberia, located in the province of Guanacaste, serves one of the busiest tourist areas of Costa Rica, where Pacific beaches, National Parks, and ecotourism, mainly demanded by U.S. and Canadian tourists, are combined.
This post-pandemic boom on the part of North American tourists encouraged airlines to resume flights to Costa Rica and add new connections, also as a result of the easing of sanitary regulations.
As the peak season approaches between the end of November and February, seven companies have added nine connections to the United States and Canada, as follows:
| Airline | Destination | Aircraft | Weekly frequencies |
| American Airlines | Austin (AUS) | Boeing 737-800 | 3 |
| American Airlines | Chicago (ORD) | Boeing 737-800 | 1 |
| Air Canadá | Montreal (YUL) | Boeing 737-8 | 1 |
| Delta Air Lines | Los Ángeles (LAX) | Boeing 757-200 | 1 |
| Frontier | Orlando (MCO) | A320/A321 | 2 |
| Southwest | Denver (DEN) | Boeing 737-700/800 | 1 |
| Southwest | Baltimore (BWI) | Boeing 737-700/800 | 3 |
| Sunwing | Toronto (YYZ) | Boeing 737-800 | 2 |
| Westjet | Calgary (YYC) | Boeing 737-700/800 | 2 |
Additionally, in December, American Airlines will add flights from Charlotte (CLT) and New York (JFK); Delta Air Lines and Sun Country will add flights from Minneapolis (MSP); Air Transat will operate flights from Montreal (YUL) and Toronto (YYZ); TUIfly will fly London/Gatwick (LGW), and Edelweiss Air will serve Zurich (ZRH).
Tourists in Guanacaste surpass pre-covid levels
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) revealed that in the period from January to October of this year, 281,267 travelers have arrived at the Daniel Oduber Quirós airport.
However, they highlight that during October it has mobilized 23,459 people, surpassing the record of 22,290 passengers of the same month of 2019, which means that the Guanacaste airport not only recovered the pre-pandemic traffic levels but exceeded them.
«The growth shown to date is indeed important for the country because it shows a sustained path of reactivation of the tourism sector. It does not only mean that more tourists are arriving, but it also implies the recovery of employment, business activation and commercial activity throughout the industry’s value chain in light of a situation that continues to be complex at the international and national level», said Gustavo J. Segura, Minister of Tourism.
In addition to the links already launched and soon to be launched, Liberia’s international network comprises these destinations:
| Airline | Destination | Aircraft | Weekly frequencies/December increase |
| American | Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | A321 / B737-800 | 1 (increases to 3) |
| American | Miami (MIA) | A319 / B737-800 | 7 (increases to 14 and 21) |
| Air Canada | Toronto (YYZ) | Boeing 737-8 | 2 (increases to 4) |
| Alaska | Los Ángeles (LAX) | Boeing 737-800/900 | 4 (increases to 7) |
| Jetblue | Boston (BOS) | A320ceo/neo | 1 |
| Jetblue | Los Ángeles (LAX) | A320ceo/neo | 1 |
| Jetblue | Nueva York (JFK) | A320ceo/neo | 4 |
| Delta | Atlanta (ATL) | Boeing 757-200 | 6 (increases to 9) |
| KLM | Ámsterdam (AMS) | Boeing 787-9 | 4 |
| Southwest | Houston/Hobby (HOU) | Boeing 737-700 | 7 |
| Sunwing | Toronto (YYZ) | Boeing 737-800 | 3 |
| United | Chicago (ORD) | Boeing 737-900ER | 1 |
| United | Denver (DEN) | Boeing 737-800 | 4 |
| United | Houston (IAH) | Boeing 737-800 | 14 |
| United | Newark (EWR) | Boeing 737-800 | 4 |
| United | Los Ángeles (LAX) | Boeing 737-900ER | 1 |
| United | San Francisco (SFO) | Boeing 737-900ER | 1 |
