Villa Clara’s International Airport Increases Operations

SANTA CLARA, Cuba - The Abel Santamaria International Airport has increased its operations, with the arrival this month, and for the first time, of a flight of the Principal de Chile airline coming from Córdoba, Argentina.

Jesús Diaz-Canel, director of the National Office for Tourist Information (INFOTUR) in Villa Clara, told ACN that the airport is also receiving flights from Buenos Aires, which are the beginning of the direct arrival of Argentinean tourists to the province’s northeastern cays. He added that airplanes from eight airliners established in Europe, North and South America land in the air terminal, with more than 40 flights a week during the current tourist winter season, which represents an excess of almost ten as compared to the same period of 2010.

He highlighted that statistics reflect a three percent increase in the arrival of travelers to the province’s territory in 2010, having the cays of Santa Maria, Ensenachos and Las Brujas -with beautiful beaches and recreational attractions in spots of great biodiversity- as tourist destinations.

Mario Ricardo Mir, director of the “Abel Santamaria”, explained that the staff of this center was trained for the increase of 160 flights during the present high tourist season.

He underlined that Canada is the main country sending passengers to this airport, Cuba’s fifth in terms of the movement of airplanes and travelers, closely linked to the development of the tourist area of the northeast cays of Villa Clara province.(acn)