One year ago Nature Air was the second biggest operator of domestic flights in Costa Rica, but the tragic accident that took place December 31st, 2017 where 10 American tourists and the Costa Rican pilot and copilot died, caused the suspension of the airline and later it’s closure.

According to data by the General Direction of Civil Aviation, as a result of the accident, the number of tourists that chose domestic flights decreased considerably, going from 240,046 passengers in the first 10 months of 2017 to only 158,220 in the same period of 2018.
Tourists in domestic flights had grown steadily every year since 2013, but the number went the other way after the plane crash.

Sansa, the main domestic flight operator, went from transporting 55% of the passengers to 82% of the total passengers.

The situation also left the door open for new companies to enter the market, as it was the case for Green Airways, Aerobell and Tac Airlines.

The total number of tourists traveling to Costa Rica maintains a positive outlook, growing by 1.1% in the first ten months of this year, according to information by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), the numbers for the hotels also remain stable, so this means that tourists simply are opting for ground transportation to arrive to their destinations.