Copa Airlines and Concesión Aeropuertos de Oriente S.A.S. announced that, as of June 28, 2022, the Panamanian airline will land at Simón Bolívar International Airport, which serves Santa Marta.
The service will have a frequency of three weekly flights (Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday) and will be operated in Boeing 737-700 aircraft with a capacity for 12 passengers in executive and 112 passengers in economy.
According to the concessionaire, with the opening of this route, Samarios will be able to enjoy better connectivity from their city, with less time to reach their destination, without having to make a domestic connection via Bogotá or Medellín.
«We are very happy to strengthen our connection with the beauty and landscapes of the entire Colombian Caribbean Coast, offering the only international route to and from Santa Marta, which will connect with our extensive and growing network of routes in more than 30 countries where we operate. We also expect this new route to be an opportunity to boost Santa Marta’s economy, attracting more tourists and investment to this city and the region,» said Diego Bermudez, Regional Sales Manager.
Santa Marta, also known as «the Pearl of America» is today the center of tourism development in the Caribbean region. Its natural landscapes, biodiversity and places steeped in history and culture make it an interesting destination for tourists. It offers travelers pristine beaches, monuments and landscapes.
«With this new connection we are getting closer and closer to recovering Colombia’s international connectivity in its entirety and, in addition, we are fulfilling the purpose of diversifying Colombia’s offer of destinations with international flights,» explained Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia.
| Flight | From | Departure | To | Arrival |
| CM 874 | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | 12:10 p.m. | Santa Marta (SMR) | 01:39 p.m. |
| CM 875 | Santa Marta (SMR) | 03:26 p.m. | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | 04:54 p.m. |
Santa Marta International Airport (SMR)
In 2021, Santa Marta mobilized 2,642,916 travelers and 19,473 commercial air operations were executed, being 12.77% higher than the 2019 exercise that moved 2,352,075 passengers.
It has Avianca, LATAM, VIVA and Wingo flights to Bogota (BOG), Bucaramanga (BGA), Cali (CLO), Medellin/Rionegro (MDE) and Pereira (PEI).
«Aware of the potential that the region has in terms of tourism, investment, and business, from Concesión de Aeropuertos del Oriente S.A.S., we have been promoting and managing commercially, with the main airlines, our Simón Bolívar International Airport of Santa Marta for several periods» highlighted Nelson Rodríguez Cruz, manager of Aeropuertos de Oriente S.A.S.
«Very soon the department of Magdalena will be able to connect with more than 65 international destinations operated by this airline in its main hub. Undoubtedly, it is a great step and achievement that we reached for the benefit of the city and the destination,» he added.
Copa Airlines in Colombia
Copa Airlines flies to 10 Colombian cities: Armenia (AXM), Barranquilla (BAQ), Bogotá (BOG), Bucaramanga (BGA), Cartagena (CTG), Cali (CLO), Cúcuta (CUC), Medellín (MDE), Pereira (PEI) and San Andrés (ADZ); being one of the international airlines with the largest presence in the country.
In 2021 it transported 1,210,811 passengers in the 10 airports.
| City | Passengers | Current frequencies |
| Bogotá | 410.305 | 46 weekly flights |
| Medellín | 355.146 | 35 weekly flights |
| Cali | 231.544 | 26 weekly flights |
| Barranquilla | 67.755 | 10 weekly flights |
| Cartagena | 67.424 | 14 weekly flights |
| Pereira | 58.264 | 5 weekly flights |
| Bucaramanga | 15.731 | 2 weekly flights |
| Cúcuta | 2.405 | 3 weekly flights |
| Armenia | 2.405 | 3 weekly flights |
| San Andrés | 96 | 2 weekly flights |
See also: Copa Airlines asks authorization to fly to Santa Marta
