Twenty-four travelers have been penalized after presenting falsified coronavirus test results when trying to leave Costa Rica through Juan Santamaría International Airport, according to a report from La Nación.
Deputy prosecutor Alejandro Araya told La Nación that some passengers had found forms online that they had filled out and were trying to pass off as legitimate.
“We cannot, under any circumstances, allow as an authority for these people to return to their country of origin or the country to which they are traveling with altered or false documents,” Araya said.
Passengers caught faced an expedited judicial process culminating in either a monetary fine or mandatory donation to social charities. In addition, they were required to obtain a legitimate coronavirus test before being permitted to leave Costa Rica.
Costa Rican authorities detained two passengers on suspicion that they had presented falsified coronavirus test results when trying to leave the country, according to a report from CRHoy.
The Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) provided a short statement of the events that occurred at Juan Santamaría International Airport near San José, Costa Rica.
One of the arrested passengers is a Brazilian who intended to fly to Brazil. The second case is a Venezuelan who was also presenting documentation for two minors who were flying to Colombia.
“In both cases, the test lacked legitimacy after confrontations carried out with the authorized laboratories,” the OIJ reported.
Spanish holiday airline Iberojet will offer flights between Madrid and Costa Rica starting in June 2021, the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) announced.
“The arrival of new airlines to the country is of enormous relevance to continue with tourism recovery, generate more jobs and activate the industry,” said Gustavo Segura, Costa Rica’s Tourism Minister. “Despite the global pandemic, Costa Rica maintains its position as one of the most liked destinations.”
Iberojet says it will offer up to 25 weekly departures from Spain and Portugal to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica and Costa Rica.
Flights to Juan Santamaría International Airport near San José will be operated by Airbus A350 and A330 wide-body aircraft.
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International arrivals to
Costa Rica in 2020 by all routes reached the accumulated figure of 1,011,912, which represents almost one-third of the record for 2019 when they exceeded 3 million.
With the return of 20 airlines from Costa Rica’s main tourism markets and the announcement of new routes at the end of the period, December registered the entry of 71,000 tourists by air, almost doubling the visitation registered in November, during which 36,044 were reported, according to data from the
General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners analyzed by the
Costa Rican Tourism Institute.
Despite what
Tourism Minister Gustavo Segura Sancho called an unprecedented year, he added that reaching the number of visitors it did was an achievement of its own. Costa Rica had its air and maritime border open for only seven months of the year with only four-and-a-half months open to all countries of the world.