Sun Country Airlines’ held its inaugural flight from Fort Myers to San Juan, Puerto Rico this week. There was a small reception at the terminal where Puerto Rican food was served. Vice President of sales at Sun Country airlines Eric Curry spoke.
“The advance bookings on these flights have been very strong as well,” said Curry. “So strong, in fact that we are going to continue this service year round, and that’s a great tribute to you folks here and we’re very excited about that.”
Curry said this will save hours for travelers in Southwest Florida headed to Puerto Rico.
Lee County Port Authority Executive Director Robert Ball said these types of flights can open up new locations to travelers through Fort Myers.
“Our business is creating more destinations and more locations for the travelling public and this is certainly going to help in doing that,” said Ball. “We look forward to the possibility of connecting passengers to the Dominican Republic, and to other islands throughout the Caribbean. San Juan has a major sea port there which is an excellent location for cruises and cruise ship lines.”
These new twice-a-week flights also bring more convenience for families visiting each other between the two regions. Pablo Martinez lives in Dorado, Puerto Rico just outside of San Juan. He said the flight is a great connection to Florida Gulf Coast University.
“I’ve got my son studying here at FGCU, so we’re moving out of his dormitory this weekend,” said Martinez. “[The flight] would be great for business and for the university, having other connection to the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. It would be great for families wanting to visit here in Southwest Florida.”
Sun Country also announced it will also begin direct flights from Southwest Florida to Cancun in October.