This Beach-and-Reef Country Is About to Get 5 New Nonstop U.S. Flights — and 3 Come From a Single State
A growing airline is adding nonstop service to Belize from Boston, Raleigh-Durham and three Florida airports, reshaping the winter flight map to one of Central America's top beach destinations.
BermudAir is launching five new nonstop routes to Belize this fall and winter, connecting the Central American country with Boston, Raleigh-Durham and three Florida airports just as demand for winter beach trips picks up.
The new gateways are Fort Lauderdale, Orlando Sanford and St. Petersburg-Clearwater in Florida, plus Boston and Raleigh-Durham. Fort Lauderdale goes first, on Oct. 26, with Monday, Wednesday and Friday service. The rest arrive during the December holidays: Boston on Dec. 19, St. Petersburg-Clearwater on Dec. 20, and Raleigh-Durham and Orlando Sanford on Dec. 21. Every route lands at Philip Goldson International Airport outside Belize City, and the carrier plans to fly them with Embraer E190 jets.
Florida accounts for three of the five gateways, giving the state the biggest share of new lift. The airline is also adding a Belize-Guatemala City flight beginning Dec. 19, making it possible to pair two Central American countries on a single trip.
The expanded map matters because Belize packs several very different vacations into one compact country. From Belize City, short domestic hops and boats reach San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, a diving and beach-resort hub near the Belize Barrier Reef; Caye Caulker, a smaller sandy-lane island; and Placencia, a growing beach-resort town in the south. Head inland instead and the Cayo District offers Maya sites like Xunantunich, caves and jungle lodges.
The Belize Tourism Board is partnering with BermudAir on the service. Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler said the routes would open Belize to millions of travelers in newly connected U.S. markets, pointing to the reef, Maya heritage and the country's resorts as the main draws.