MEC Manta now International Airport. Flights?
 

Eloy Elfaro airport in Manta Ecuador is now an International airport . I am wondering if Copa will be the first to offer flights there from PTY?

There certainly were discussions between Ecuador and Copa airlines toward that end before the pandemic. Currently, there are only a couple domestic flights a week in/out of Manta (LATAM airlines), so there is no likelihood that international flights will happen until air travel starts to return to normal.

Manta is relatively small city with a bit more than 200'000 inhabitants. It's main industries are in the food sector, in particular tuna processing. Most products of the industries in Manta are exported, but usually by ship, since they are not perishable (because of processing). There is tourism, but at very moderate levels. So I guess even for Copa it's a bit of a border line business case, in particular after retiring large parts of the E190 fleet.

I understand what your saying. From a laymans view I see Manta growing towards a destination city. Just in the 4-5 years I've seen the new hotels go up like the Wyndham, Poseidon, the beautifully renovated Oro Verde etc... Ideally for me a short shuttle flight from GYE to MEC would be perfect!

Looking better... "Latam, which is a Chilean airline, has just announced that it will bring its sixth plane to Ecuador and that it will bring a new cargo flight. These types of agreements better position Ecuador in the international community. Now that we have signed with Panama, Copa also says that it would be interested in flying from Panama to Manta. Meanwhile, the agreement as such has not yet been signed with the US, but the corresponding memorandum has already been signed. The signature of the presidents is missing".

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/...cionales-nota/