Copa Airlines will become the Felipe Ángeles’ second international airline.
The Panamanian carrier Copa Airlines has announced it will operate direct flights between Panama City Tocumen International Airport (PTY) and Mexico City Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU). Starting on September 26, it will be the second international carrier to operate in Mexico’s newest hub. Let’s investigate further.
The new route
Copa Airlines already flies to Mexico City (five flights daily), Cancún (eight flights daily; the most flights per day on an international route to Cancún), Guadalajara (five flights per week), and Monterrey (three flights per week). Now the airline is looking to add a new service, flying from Tocumen to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport, which was inaugurated back in March.
On Friday, the Panamanian carrier announced its plans to launch three flights per week from Panama City to Mexico’s newest airport. The flights will take place on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines, said,
“The Mexican market has been very important to Copa Airlines, and we are pleased to be able to offer alternatives that allow us to continue strengthening our service to its capital city. In this way, we remain steadfast in our goal to increase connectivity in the countries where we operate and contribute to the growth of tourism, investment, and economic and social development in our region.”
Currently, the only international route operating to and from Felipe Ángeles International Airport is served by Venezuela’s Conviasa. Once every two Mondays, this airline flies from Caracas International Airport (CCS). Viva Aerobus will launch NLU’s second international route in a few weeks, flying daily to Havana, Cuba.
The newest route
Copa Airlines is currently the only airline with direct connectivity between Panama City and Mexico City. Prior to the pandemic, Aeromexico also served this route but employed the crisis to cancel it permanently.
The Panamanian flag carrier is set to strengthen its presence in Mexico City even further with this new service to Felipe Ángeles. Overall, the Panamanian carrier will have 38 weekly flights to this city.
Moreover, unlike the flights to Caracas and Havana, this route to Panama City will increase the overall connectivity for the Felipe Ángeles Airport.
Copa Airlines employs Tocumen, also known as the ‘Hub of the Americas’, as a connectivity hub. The airline operates around 1,000 weekly flights from Tocumen to 72 destinations across the Americas.
More international connectivity coming to NLU?
Despite the future increase in commercial services to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport, Mexico’s newest hub still lacks international routes.
Nonetheless, there have been signs that this could change soon. Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism recently met with Moroccan authorities to see if a flight by Royal Air Maroc between Casablanca and Felipe Ángeles could be possible.
No further details have been announced, but if Royal Air Maroc does launch this route, it would be Mexico’s first direct flight to Africa.
Additionally, the Mexican tourism authority recently met with India’s ambassador in Mexico to address the possibility of a flight between both countries. No further details were given, and the possibility of having any flight between India and Mexico remains far-fetched. (https://simpleflying.com/copa-airlines-flights-mexico-city/)
