Regional carrier Copa Airlines will launch new service to Belize from Panama City beginning December 8. Copa flights will depart Tocumen International Airport Tuesdays and Fridays, Copa and Belize Tourism Board said Wednesday.

Copa’s Belize-to-Panama route is designed was to provide convenient connections to Sao Paulo, Brazil; San Jose, Costa Rica; Bogota, Cartagena and Medellin in Colombia; Santiago de Chile, Chile; Quito and Guayaquil in Ecuador; Managua, Nicaragua; Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago; Havana, Cuba; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and Lima, Peru, said officials.

The passengers in transit aboard the Belize-Panama flights will not be required to clear immigration or customs, and their luggage will be checked to their final destination. Flights will be offered aboard 94-passenger Embraer 190 with 10 executive class and 84 main cabin seats. The aircraft is characterized for having features seats in each side of the main isle with no center seat.

“The connectivity will open enormous opportunities for tourism and commercial development for this country,” said Pedro Helibron, Copa’s president, “as well as allowing for tourist[s] from the same region to have the opportunity to enjoy all the tourism and commercial strengths Belize has to offer.”

“I must reiterate how important this partnership is,” said Manuel Heredia Jr., Belize’s minister of tourism, culture and civil aviation, “as COPA will not only supply significant potential markets for Belize, but also offer excellent and competitive linkages to the Caribbean, Central and especially to the South American market.”