Juan Santamaría International Airport

Juan Santamaría International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría) (IATA: SJO, ICAO: MROC) is the primary airport serving San José, the capital of Costa Rica. The airport is located in Alajuela Province, 20 kilometres (12 mi; 11 nmi) west of downtown San José. It is named after Costa Rica's national hero, Juan Santamaría, a drummer boy who died in 1856 defending his country against forces led by William Walker, an American filibuster.

Juan Santamaría International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Costa Rica
OperatorAeris Holdings Costa Rica under CCR S.A.
ServesSan José, Costa Rica
LocationAlajuela Province, Costa Rica
Hub for
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL921 m / 3,022 ft
Coordinates9°59′38″N 84°12′32″W
Websitesjoairport.com
Map
SJO is located in Costa Rica
SJO
SJO
Location in Costa Rica
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 3,012 9,882 Asphalt
Statistics (2021)
Passengers3,063,086
Passenger change 20–21Increase85.8%
Aircraft movements65,162
Movements change 20–21Increase74.9%
Source: Costa Rican AIP,[1] DGAC[2]

The airport is a hub for Avianca Costa Rica, Costa Rica Green Airways, Sansa Airlines, and Volaris Costa Rica and a focus city for Avianca El Salvador and Copa Airlines. It was the country's only international gateway for many years, before the opening of the international airport in Liberia, Guanacaste. Both airports have direct flights to North and Central America and Europe, but Juan Santamaría International Airport also serves cities in South America and the Caribbean.

Juan Santamaría International Airport was once the busiest airport in Central America, but is currently second after Tocumen International Airport in Panama. In 2021, Juan Santamaría International Airport received 3.06 million passengers (international and domestic).

History

The airport was built to replace the previous one in downtown San Jose where Parque La Sabana is located today.[3] Funding was secured by the government in 1951[4] and construction proceed slowly until the airport was officially inaugurated on May 2, 1958.[5] It was initially called "Aeropuerto Internacional el Coco" after its location of the same name in the province of Alajuela. It was later renamed in honor of Juan Santamaría. In 1961, funding was secured to build the highway connecting the airport to downtown San José.[6]

Ground transportation

The road access to the airport is on an exit at Route 1, and near the exit to Alajuela. There is a parking area with surcharge, plus a bus stop with plenty of services to San Jose downtown (with no exact schedule but with 24-hours bus service and approximately one service every 10 minutes during working hours). Licensed taxis are available in the airport and will generally accept both colones and U.S. dollars, but not other currencies. Costa Rican taxis are red with yellow triangles on the doors, ubiquitous all over the country, plus there is a special airport taxi service that is licensed and employs orange taxis. While the rail line linking downtown Alajuela with San José's Atlantic Station passes in close proximity to the airport, there is no station serving the airport and no rail service of any kind to the airport.

Facilities

Terminal building and control tower.

The airport's sole runway allows operations of large widebody aircraft. Currently, some scheduled flights are operated with Airbus A330, A340 and A350, and Boeing 747, 767, 777 and 787, for both passengers and freight. A Concorde landed in 1999 for that year's airshow.[7] Previously, the airport had a small hangar, called the "NASA" hangar, to house research aircraft, like the Martin B-57 Canberra high altitude aircraft, that were being operated in Costa Rica.[8] After that mission was completed, the hangar was removed.[9]

Interior of the check-in hall

Internationally the largest operator in the airport is Avianca and all their branches, followed by Copa Airlines which uses the Main Terminal (M). Domestically the largest airline is Sansa Airlines, and their flights depart from the Domestic Terminal (D). The largest US airlines at the airport by number of destinations served all year-long are American Airlines and jetBlue and the largest European airline at the airport is Iberia which is the only European airline that flies daily between Europe and San José from their base Madrid airport using an Airbus A330-200 combined with the Airbus A350-900XWB (specially in European winter season).

No major changes were made to the terminal until November 1997 when the government issued a decree requesting participation of private companies to manage the operations of the airport.[10] After a few years of legal challenges and contract negotiations, Alterra Partners was given a 20-year concession and started managing the facilities in May 2001.[10] It was also expected that the company would finish the necessary expansion and construction of new facilities, however in March 2002, Alterra announced it would cease any further construction due to disagreements over financing and airport use fee billing with the government.[11] The dispute was extended for a few years and problems started at the terminal; in 2005, the International Civil Aviation Organization pointed out that the airport did not comply with safety regulations.[5] In July 2009, Alterra yielded the contract to a consortium composed of Houston-based Canadian-American company ADC & HAS and the Brazilian company, Andrade Gutierrez Concessoes (AGC) - subsidiary of the conglomerate Andrade Gutierrez.[12] In December 2009, Alterra Partners changed its name to AERIS Holdings, S.A.[12] In November 2010, Aeris announced it had finished the expansion and construction of new facilities with the installation of the 9th boarding bridge.[13]

The airport houses three business lounges for both special card holders and business class travellers; Avianca Club, Copa Club and VIP Lounge (for BAC Credomatic customers).[14]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines have scheduled direct services to and/or from Juan Santamaría International Airport:

Passenger

Current domestic routes from SJO.
Current American routes from SJO.
Current European routes from SJO
AirlinesDestinations
AeroméxicoMexico City
Air CanadaSeasonal: Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Air Canada RougeSeasonal: Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Air FranceParis–Charles de Gaulle
Air TransatSeasonal: Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Alaska AirlinesLos Angeles
Albatros AirlinesCaracas (suspended)
American AirlinesCharlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami
Arajet Santo Domingo–Las Américas
AviancaBogotá
Avianca Costa RicaBogotá, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza,[15] Cancún, Cartagena, Guatemala City, Lima, Managua (suspended), Medellín–JMC, Mexico City,[16] New York–JFK, Panama City–Tocumen (suspended), Quito,[17] San Salvador, Washington–Dulles[18]
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare (begins December 13, 2023),[19] San Pedro Sula (begins December 10, 2023)[19]
Avianca El SalvadorSan Salvador
British AirwaysSeasonal: London–Gatwick
Copa AirlinesGuatemala City, Managua, Panama City–Tocumen
Costa Rica Green AirwaysQuepos, Tambor
Delta Air LinesAtlanta, Los Angeles
Edelweiss AirZürich
Frontier Airlines Atlanta[20]
Seasonal: Miami
IberiaMadrid
IberojetMadrid[21]
JetBlueFort Lauderdale, New York–JFK, Orlando
Seasonal: Los Angeles
KLMSeasonal: Amsterdam
LATAM PerúLima
LufthansaFrankfurt
Sansa AirlinesCosta Esmeralda, Coto 47, Drake Bay, Golfito, La Fortuna/San Carlos, Liberia (CR), Limón, Nosara Beach, Palmar Sur, Pérez Zeledón, Puerto Jiménez, Quepos, Tamarindo, Tambor, Tortuguero
Southwest AirlinesBaltimore, Houston–Hobby
Seasonal: Denver
Spirit AirlinesFort Lauderdale, Orlando
United AirlinesHouston–Intercontinental, Newark
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, Washington–Dulles
Viva AerobusSeasonal: Cancún (suspended)
VolarisCancún
Volaris Costa RicaBogotá,[22] Cancún, Guatemala City, Lima,[23] Mexico Citya, New York–JFK,b San Salvador, Washington–Dulles
WingoBogotá, Panama City–Balboa[24]

Notes

^a Volaris Costa Rica flies to Mexico City non-stop but also has flights via Guatemala City. They have fifth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Guatemala City and Mexico City.

^b Volaris Costa Rica flies to New York–JFK via San Salvador. They have fifth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between San Salvador and New York.

Departures hall
Terminal facade

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
ABX Air Panama City–Tocumen
AerCaribe Panama City–Tocumen
AeroUnion Miami, Guatemala City, Mexico City
Amerijet International Miami
Avianca Cargo Miami
CargoJet Miami
DHL Aero Expreso Miami, Panama City–Tocumen, San Pedro Sula
DHL de Guatemala Guatemala City
FedEx Express Aguadilla, Memphis
La Costeña Managua
LATAM Cargo Colombia Miami, Guatemala City
Mas Air Mexico City, Quito
UPS Airlines Miami

Former Destinations and/or Airlines

These airlines used to operate at Juan Santamaría Airport, however, they either don't exist anymore, have discontinued their services to the airport, have canceled previously served destinations or were merged into a different airline.

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroméxico ConnectMexico City
Air CaraïbesPointe-à-Pitre via Panama City–Tocumen
Air MadridMadrid
Air PanamaDavid, Panama City–Pacífico
Air TransatVancouver
American AirlinesChicago–O'Hare, Los Angeles, New York–JFK, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Avianca Costa RicaLima, Tegucigalpa
Avianca PerúLima
CondorFrankfurt via Santo Domingo–Las Américas, Munich via Punta Cana
Cubana de AviaciónHavana
Ecuatoriana de AviaciónQuito
InterjetMexico City
Mexicana de AviaciónMexico City
Nicaragüense de AviaciónManagua
OrbestLisbon
Southwest AirlinesFort Lauderdale
Spirit AirlinesHouston–Intercontinental
US AirwaysCharlotte, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Veca AirlinesSan Salvador
VolarisGuadalajara
Volaris Costa RicaManagua
WestJetToronto–Pearson
WingoPanama City–Tocumen

Statistics

Juan Santamaria International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Costa Rica, having experienced a constant increase in traffic since its opening in 1958, boosted by the growing flow of tourists. The airport reached more than one million passengers per year for the first time in 1991 and having a record number of passengers in 2019. Traffic movements reached its highest number in 2017, while freight (in metric tons) reached a peak in 2011, with 98,609 tons.

Annual passenger traffic at SJO airport. See Wikidata query.
Number of passengersPercentage changeNumber of movementsFreight (tonnes)
1960 209,624
1965 216,162Increase09.6%14,8279,839
1970 381,278Increase016.3%28,67319,808
1975 759,098Increase018.1%33,41721,727
1980 658,154Decrease02.5%33,01321,712
1985 617,474Increase00.3%24,99027,282
1990 987,870Increase010.8%35,56972,419
1995 1,839,175Increase03.8%52,40288,249
2000 2,160,869Decrease04.3%72,42877,137
2005 3,243,440Increase012.2%72,13164,338
2010 4,257,606Increase05.0%87,38485,164
2011 3,857,588Decrease09.4%72,67498,609
2012 3,872,467Increase00.4%67,00294,775
2013 3,797,616Decrease01.9%62,59885,022
2014 3,917,573Increase03.2%73,30786,741
2015 4,494,875Increase014.7%82,83575,329
2016 4,595,355Increase02.2%85,73173,633
2017 5,092,060Increase010.8%90,04482,712
2018 5,230,382Increase02.7%78,89791,152
2019 5,541,577Increase05.9%84,79092,072
2020 1,648,408Decrease070.3%37,26275,611
2021 3,063,086Increase085.8%65,16294,376
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Costa Rica

Top international destinations

Busiest international routes to and from SJO (Jan. 2018 – Dec. 2018)
AirportArrivalsDeparturesTotal2018-2019Carriers
1 Panama Panama City1 405,608 415,602 821,210 Decrease00.62% Air Panama, Avianca, Copa
2 United States Houston2 211,017 204,318 415,335 Increase08.89% Southwest, United
3 Mexico Mexico City, Mexico 189,358 191,635 380,993 Increase016.67% Aeroméxico, Interjet, Volaris
4 United States Fort Lauderdale 188,381 188,457 376,838 Increase017.51% Jetblue, Southwest, Spirit
5 El Salvador San Salvador 182,658 185,483 368,141 Decrease01.68% Avianca, Volaris
6 United States Miami 146,658 149,607 296,265 Decrease01.00% American, Avianca, Frontier
7 United States Atlanta 127,362 128,674 256,036 Increase07.45% Delta
8 Guatemala Guatemala City 126,354 123,937 250,291 Decrease017.06% Avianca, Copa, Volaris
9 Colombia Bogotá 109,184 108,389 217,573 Increase06.48% Avianca, Wingo
10 Spain Madrid 96,489 101,827 198,316 Increase02.03% Iberia
11 United States Los Angeles 90,317 86,237 176,554 Increase035.57% Alaska, Delta
12 United States Newark 91,460 83,374 174,834 Increase02.16% United
13 Peru Lima 68,203 72,427 140,630 Increase076.71% LATAM, Avianca
14 United States Orlando 53,046 54,702 107,748 Increase05.96% Jetblue, Spirit, Frontier
15 United States Dallas/Fort Worth 51,585 53,735 105,320 Decrease02.90% American
16 Canada Toronto–Pearson 51,136 46,897 98,033 Increase08.79% Air Canada, Air Transat, WestJet
17 France Paris–Charles de Gaulle 47,348 46,619 93,967 Increase0290.75% Air France
18 Nicaragua Managua 44,560 46,125 90,685 Decrease041.84% Copa
19 Germany Frankfurt 40,980 42,908 83,8883 Increase0103.89% Lufthansa, Condor
20 Mexico Cancún 32,461 33,403 65,864 Increase035.78% Viva Aerobus, Volaris,
21 Switzerland Zürich 31,959 32,244 64,203 Increase075.42% Edelweiss
22 United Kingdom London–Gatwick 26,996 27,620 54,616 Decrease00.76% British Airways
23 United States Charlotte 27,183 24,233 51,416 Decrease02.00% American
24 Honduras Tegucigalpa 26,578 19,771 46,349 Increase00.09% Avianca, Copa
25 Netherlands Amsterdam 16,756 15,166 31,922 Increase0554.01% KLM
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Air Transportation Statistical Yearbook (Years 2017,[25] and 2018[26]).
Notes:

^1 Avianca and Copa fly to Panama City-Tocumen Airport, and Air Panama flies to Panama City-Albrook Airport. The data here is for traffic between SJO and all airports in Panama City.
^2 United and Spirit fly to Houston-Intercontinental Airport, and Southwest flies to Houston-Hobby Airport. The data here is for traffic between SJO and all airports in Houston.
^3 Includes passengers to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The German airline Condor flies between San José and Frankfurt making a stopover in Santo Domingo, and the airline has the right to transport passengers between SJO and SDQ and vice versa only. However, the data about passengers flying to and arriving from Santo Domingo only are not defined by the DGAC, and not comparable yearly. Also, Lufthansa started to fly directly from FRA to SJO and return on March 29, 2018

Accidents and incidents

  • On August 20, 1977, a Monarch Aviation Convair CV-880 struck trees and crashed 2.5km (1.6m) SE of SJO shortly after takeoff probably because the aircraft was overweight with cargo. All 3 occupants died.[27]
  • On May 23, 1988, a leased Boeing 727-100 (TI-LRC) operating the route San Jose-Managua-Miami, collided with a fence at the end of the runway in the Juan Santamaria International Airport, crashed at a nearby field next to a highway, and caught fire. The excess of weight in the front part of the airplane was the cause of the accident. There were no fatalities out of the 23 occupants.[28]
  • On January 16, 1990, SANSA Flight 32 crashed into the Cerro Cedral, a mountain, shortly after takeoff from Juan Santamaria International Airport. All 20 passengers and 3 crew on board perished in the crash.
  • On September 3, 2007, a North American Rockwell Sabreliner 70 registration N726JR aborted the takeoff from runway 07. The airplane ran off the right side of the runway into the grass. The landing gear collapsed as the plane skidded and turned 180 degrees. The aircraft was written off.[29]
  • On April 7, 2022, DHL Aero Expreso Flight 7216, a Boeing 757-27A operated by DHL Aviation en route to Guatemala City skidded off the runway while performing an emergency landing due to a hydraulic problem. The aircraft was written off because the tail section broke off, however there was no fire or injuries reported.[30]

See also

References

  1. AIP - Part 3 Aerodromes Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  2. (in Spanish) Estadísticas de Transporte Aéreo: Período: 2019 y 2021.
  3. Calvo, Rodrigo (2011-03-27). "Los mil rostros de La Sabana". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  4. "En primber debate fueron aprobados el Arancel de Aduanas y la Ley de Pagos Internacionales". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. 1951-11-26. Archived from the original on 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  5. Rojas, Ronny (2008-07-09). "El Santamaría incumple normas de seguridad". Al Dia (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  6. "Hace 50 años, Sábado 11 de marzo de 1961". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. 2011-03-11. Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  7. Delgado, Edgar (1999-01-28). "Concorde impuso récord". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
  8. Ponchner, Debbie (2005-07-02). "Hoy despega de suelo tico la misión TCSP de la NASA". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
  9. Ponchner, Debbie (2007-05-05). "NASA realizará gran misión científica desde suelo tico". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
  10. Feigenblatt, Hazel (2001-05-05). "Aeropuerto a manos privadas hoy". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  11. Loaiza, Vanessa (2002-03-15). "Suspenden obras en aeropuerto". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  12. Loaiza, Vanessa (2009-12-04). "BID presta $45 millones para ampliar Juan Santamaría". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  13. Loaiza, Vanessa (2010-11-10). "Concluye modernización de aeropuerto Santamaría". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica. Archived from the original on 2010-11-14. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  14. "VIP Services - Juan Santamaría International Airport". sjoairport.com. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  15. "Avianca confirma 4 vuelos semanales entre Quito y Buenos Aires". Nicolas Larenas. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  16. "Avianca will connect San José and Mexico City nonstop starting in December". LaRepública.net (in Spanish). September 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  17. "Avianca strengthens connectivity from Central America with the operation of routes to the United States". Periódico Digital (in Spanish). September 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  18. "South American carrier ups its presence at Dulles Airport". 16 July 2022.
  19. "AVIANCA COSTA RICA RESUMES 2 US ROUTES FROM DEC 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  20. "Frontier Airlines More Than Doubles Its International Destinations from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport".
  21. "Evelop will have flights between Madrid and San José (Costa Rica) during the summer". Aviacionline (in Spanish). May 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  22. "Volaris Costa Rica tendrá vuelos a Bogotá". 20 April 2022.
  23. "Volaris Inició Venta Lima-San José". T News. 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  24. "Wingo announces 4 new international routes". Aviaciononline.com (in Spanish). May 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  25. Anuario Estadístico de Transporte Aéreo 2017. Dirección General de Aviación Civil de Costa Rica
  26. Anuario Estadístico de Transporte Aéreo 2018. Dirección General de Aviación Civil de Costa Rica
  27. Accident description for N8817E at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 12, 2023.
  28. Accident description for TI-LRC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 12, 2023.
  29. Accident description for N726JR at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 12, 2023.
  30. Noëth, Bart (2022-04-07). "DHL Aero Expreso Boeing 757 freighter exits runway and breaks into pieces at San Jose, Costa Rica". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 2022-04-07.

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