MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Eastern lands at Carrasco, Copa adds flights to/from Montevideo

An Eastern Airlines Boeing 767-300 (ER) will serve Montevideo twice a week

Montevideo's Carrasco international airport welcomed a new operator this week and more flights from an old one, as Uruguay's reopening to the world gains momentum in the current pandemic scenario.

Eastern Airlines' Boeing 767-300 (ER) from Miami landed Thursday (24) at 5:58 p.m. Uruguayan time, after a Copa Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9s touched down Tuesday (22) at 03:47, thus increasing the number of weekly services to and from Panama City's Tocumen airport.

With the new arrivals, Eastern will have two weekly services to and from Miami with 244 seats in two classes. It also marked the return of direct flights between the United States and Uruguay after American Airlines lifted their yearly routes in March 2020 as a result of covid-19 and kept it only as a seasonal summer destination.

“The arrival of the airline is the result of coordinated work with ministries, state agents, the airline itself and the US Embassy, and is a milestone that seeks to contribute to the strengthening of a sector that is the engine of the national economy”, said Diego Arrosa CEO of Carrasco International Airport.

Eastern's Carlos Pera celebrated the reopening of connectivity between Miami and Montevideo. “Both cities are united by great ties and interests related to business, commerce and tourism,” he said.

Flights will depart from Miami Thursdays and Sundays at around 8 pm, arriving in Montevideo the following morning. Return flights will leave from the Uruguayan capital Mondays and Fridays in the evening.

The airline plans to add more weekly services to this route as well and also open a new service to and from New York, it was reported. In Latin America, Eastern serves Guayaquil and Managua from the United States, while plans to fly to Belo Horizonte have been put on hold.

Meanwhile, Copa will increase their weekly offer to 1,660 seats between Panama City and Montevideo from their previous 1,162. Copa's aircraft are configured with 166 seats in three classes.