Spirit Airlines is bringing back more international flights across its Latin American network. From Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, two of the airline’s largest operating bases, the carrier is reinstating flights across multiple countries as border restrictions ease up, and demand for travel starts to come back.
Bringing back more flights from Orlando
Six nonstop international routes will relaunch from December 4th onwards out of Orlando International Airport (MCO). They are as follows:
- Bogota (BOG): 4x weekly from December 4th
- San Pedro Sula (SAP): 3x weekly from December 4th
- Cartagena (CTG): 3x weekly from December 16th
- Cancun (CUN) 6x weekly from December 16th
- Guatemala City (GUA): 3x weekly from December 16th
- San Salvador (SAL): 2x weekly from December 19th
- Aguadilla (BQN): daily flights from January 6th
These flights are in addition to two other destinations served by Spirit in the Caribbean: San Juan (SJU), which is served up to five times per day currently, and St. Thomas (STT), which is currently served four times per week.
The San Pedro Sula flights are pending the reopening of the airport. The Honduran airport is currently undergoing repairs after suffering damage from Hurricane Eta.
John Kirby, Spirit Airlines Vice President of Network Planning, stated the following:
“Holidays are the time to see family and friends, and we’re excited to offer so many nonstop international options from Central Florida. We’re the only major airline based in Florida, and the Orlando market is one of our largest gateways. We know how valuable it is for people to jump on a plane and fly nonstop to their destination without having to connect through a busy hub.”
Orlando is an important hub for Spirit Airlines. The carrier flew over 2.6 million passengers at MCO in 2019. In July, the carrier was able to reactivate most of its domestic network as air travel demand started to resume. With the resumption of this international service, Spirit will serve 38 nonstop destinations across the United States and offer an average of 53 flights per day in December.
Peruvian flights are back
Spirit Airlines resumed flights to Peru in early November. This includes flights between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) in Lima. The airline offers connections onward to over 15 major cities out of Fort Lauderdale.
Spirit Airlines resumed these nonstop services after the country lifted border restrictions, allowing passengers with negative PCR tests performed 72 hours prior to travel. Check with the Peruvian Embassy or the United States Department of State for more information on entry into Peru. Passengers heading to Peru will have to wear a face shield and a face covering.
Peru is a major market for Spirit, given how over 2.1 million passengers have flown Spirit between Lima and Fort Lauderdale since 2007.
New Colombian destinations
This week, Spirit Airlines also started services to two new Colombian destinations. The airline added nonstop service from Fort Lauderdale to Bucaramanga in Colombia from November 18th, which is the only nonstop route between Bucaramanga and the United States.
Spirit Airlines then added flights to Barranquilla on November 19th. These two destinations were new to the airline’s network and planned before the crisis hit, yet the airline still showed a strong desire to serve these communities.
Spirit Airlines flies to more destinations nonstop in Colombia than any other US airline with these two new routes. In September, Spirit became the first airline to fly an international flight in months to Colombia. (https://simpleflying.com/spirit-more-international/)
