Air Transat flight with 150 passengers arrives in Río Hato

Amid patriotic tunes performed by the IPT music band and dances by the handsome bull, 152 passengers who arrived from Canada on Tuesday at the Scarlett Martínez Airport in Río Hato, in Coclé, aboard the Airbus, were received by local authorities. Air Transat A321LR. 

This is the first flight of the winter season made by the Canadian airline, which has scheduled two weekly flights from Montreal (Tuesday and Friday) and two more from Toronto (Monday and Thursday) to Panama. 

This represents an approximate 60% increase from Montreal and 36% from Toronto in capacity to Rio Hato for Air Transat over capacity prior to the 2019 respiratory pandemic. 

The winter season trips that begin in November will end in April 2023. The capacity of a latest generation Airbus A321 LR is 199 passengers and the average stay of a passenger in the destination is about seven days, in which they seek sun, beach, nature, culture, among others, 

Air Transat is Canada's leading vacation airline, flying to over 60 international destinations in more than 25 countries in the Americas and Europe, carrying some 5 million passengers each year. 

The administrator of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP), Iván Eskildsen, stated that the four weekly flights that this airline will carry out marks a historic milestone, because it is the first time that Canada and the Rio Hato Airport agree on fixed flights, leaving behind the charter flights. "This drives tourism development in an important way in this region of the country that after the capital city, has the largest hotel plant, we are talking about 3 thousand 600" 

For his part, Raffoul Arab, general manager of Tocumen SA, pointed out "that we are seeing the fruits of a dynamic management of airport promotion that will have a positive impact on the communities of the central region of the country, to the extent that flight frequencies increase" 

The reactivation of these flights is contemplated in the strategy of the National Government aimed at the recovery of the country's economy, under the leadership of President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen and the Tourism Cabinet. 

The Pacific Riviera is the coastal area from Punta Chame, in West Panama, to Farallón, in Río Hato, with a high demand for sun and beach experiences, nautical (marine) tourism activities, and active tourism or contact with nature. 

The PMTS Action Plan is framed around the concept of "Sun and Beach Plus" for the Pacific Riviera, as a way to differentiate and make this destination more attractive and reactivate the economy, so that it mainly benefits the communities of this region of the Pacific. country.