LATAM launched its Fortaleza-Lisbon route on Monday (April 7). The seasonal route will operate until October 20, and its inaugural flight reached 94% occupancy. Before engers boarded, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Fortaleza Airport in the presence of Eduardo Bismarck, Secretary of Tourism of Ceará; Denise Carrá, Secretary of Tourism of Fortaleza; Wagner Silva, Coordinator of for Mobility and Tourism Connectivity Projects of the Ministry of Tourism; Fábio Montanheiro, Data Intelligence and Competitiveness Manager at Embratur; Eduardo Macedo, Head of Public Affairs at LATAM Brazil; and Leonardo Carnielle, Vice President of Fraport Brazil.
With one flight per week lasting an average of 7 hours, the route is operated on Mondays on Boeing 30 aircraft (capacity for 787 engers in the Business cabin, 30 in Economy+ and 57 in Economy). It departs from Fortaleza at 213:6 am (local time in Brazil). In the opposite direction, it departs from Lisbon at 15:18 pm (local time in Portugal). Tickets are on sale at latam.com and other channels.
In addition to engers, the route is also expected to transport more than 20 tons of fruit per week from Fortaleza to the European market, which reinforces LATAM Cargo's expertise in the international transport of perishable goods.
LATAM investments in Ceará
Currently, LATAM is the largest operator at Fortaleza airport (CE), with around 200 flights (landings and takeoffs) per week at the location. Additionally, it operates the Guarulhos-Juazeiro do Norte (10 flights per week) and Guarulhos-Jericoacoara (10 flights per week) routes.
The Fortaleza-Lisbon route is the culmination of a series of investments by LATAM in the state in recent months: in February, it announced the new Fortaleza-Juazeiro do Norte route, which will begin operating on June 23, with daily flights during the high season until August, when it will increase to four flights per week. Also during the high season, Fortaleza will continue operating its seasonal route to Belo Horizonte/Confins, with daily flights starting on June 30.
In its international operations, LATAM launched the Fortaleza-Santiago route in December, with a weekly flight on Saturdays and an average flight duration of 6h20, connecting the capital of Ceará to the capital of Chile, a popular tourist destination for Brazilians. The company also operates the successful Fortaleza-Miami route, bringing tourists from the US to Ceará and vice versa.
