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Guanacaste Airport

Coordinates: 10°35′35″N 85°32′44″W / 10.59306°N 85.54556°W / 10.59306; -85.54556
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"Liberia International Airport" redirects here. For the international airport serving the Republic of Liberia, see Roberts International Airport.
Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional Daniel Oduber Quirós
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Costa Rica
OperatorCoriport S.A.
ServesLiberia, Costa Rica
Elevation AMSL82 m / 269 ft
Coordinates10°35′35″N 85°32′44″W / 10.59306°N 85.54556°W / 10.59306; -85.54556
Websitewww.guanacastecrairport.com
Map
LIR/MRLB is located in Costa Rica
LIR/MRLB
LIR/MRLB
Location in Costa Rica
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,750 9,022 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers1,392,698
Passenger change 21–22Increase80.4%
Aircraft movements21,405
Movements change 21–22Increase16.0%
Source: AIP[1] DGAC[2] SkyVector[3] Google Maps[4]

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (IATA: LIR, ICAO: MRLB) — also known as Guanacaste Airport and Liberia International Airport — is one of four international airports in Costa Rica. It sits 11 kilometres (7 mi; 6 nmi) west-southwest of the city of Liberia in Guanacaste Province, and serves as a tourism hub for those who visit the Pacific coast and western Costa Rica. The facility covers 243 hectares (600 acres) of land and has a single 2,750-metre (9,022 ft) runway that can handle wide-body aircraft, including the Boeing 747.[5]

History

Main building interior, passenger check-in area

The idea for an airport in Guanacaste Province was conceived during the government of Daniel Oduber Quirós (1974–1978).[6] The airport was initially named "Llano Grande", after the surrounding area,[6] then renamed "Aeropuerto Tomas Guardia," and finally honor Quirós for his work for the province of Guanacaste. Today, most people call it "Liberia International Airport", and in 2021 the name was changed to Guanacaste Airport for branding purposes.[7]

In October 1995, the airport was re-inaugurated as an international airport. To support this expansion of operations, the pavement on the runway was redone and special landing lights were installed.[6] Also a firefighter station was added to comply with FAA and international regulations.[8] Initial response from commercial airlines to the expansion was timid; however, after one year the airport went from having only one weekly charter flight to one almost every day.[9]

In 2006, to manage increased demand of the airport, the government and local tourism chamber boards set aside funds to increase the parking capacity of the tarmac from five to eight airplanes, and for the construction of a parallel taxiway.[10] However, the government made it clear that the solutions were only temporary and that a private company would need to be contracted to expand and operate the airport in the future.[10] Also in 2007 a new waiting area and airport counters were opened,[11] the airport was by then receiving more than 180,000 visitors yearly.[11]

Expanded terminal and new operator

In the 2010s, the government of Costa Rica awarded CORIPORT, S.A., a 20-year concession to design, finance, construct and operate a new terminal building and associated facilities on about 36,000 m2 (390,000 sq ft) of land then occupied by the existing terminal and associated facilities. CORIPORT's shareholders include MMM Aviation Group, Emperador Pez Espada S.R.L., Inversiones Cielo Claro LTDA, Cocobolo Inversiones S.R.L., and ADC&HAS Airports Worldwide.[12] The latter is the project's operator.

The new 23,000 m2 (250,000 sq ft) terminal building has a contemporary design that is larger and more efficient than the old one. Construction started on 19 October 2010; the terminal opened on 12 January 2012.[13] Another expansion, built from January to November 2017, added space for five more airlines.[14]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air Canada Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau
Air Transat Montréal–Trudeau
Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson
Alaska Airlines Los Angeles
Seasonal: San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma (both begin 21 December 2024)[15]
American Airlines Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, New York–JFK, Philadelphia[16]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, Los Angeles[17]
Seasonal: Boston (begins 11 January 2025),[18] Minneapolis/St. Paul
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zurich
JetBlue New York–JFK
Seasonal: Boston
KLM Seasonal: Amsterdam (resumes 30 December 2024)[19]
Sansa Airlines Nosara, Quepos, San José–Juan Santamaría, Tamarindo, Tambor
Southwest Airlines Denver, Houston–Hobby
Seasonal: Baltimore
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Dallas/Fort Worth, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Sunwing Airlines Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau
TUI Airways Seasonal: London–Gatwick
United Airlines Houston–Intercontinental
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco
WestJet Calgary, Toronto–Pearson

Statistics

Traffic figures

LIR passenger totals, 2000–present (thousands)
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation
Number of passengers Percentage change Number of movements Percentage change
2000 91,206 – 9,095 –
2001 87,145 Decrease04.45% 6,347 Decrease030.21%
2002 61,948 Decrease028.91% 6,467 Increase01.89%
2003 98,495 Increase059.00% 7,089 Increase09.62%
2004 203,823 Increase0106.94% 9,955 Increase040.43%
2005 303,171 Increase048.74% 12,754 Increase028.12%
2006 391,567 Increase029.16% 13,852 Increase08.61%
2007 423,327 Increase08.11% 14,592 Increase05.34%
2008 442,902 Increase04.62% 16,615 Increase013.86%
2009 396,188 Decrease010.55% 12,716 Decrease023.47%
2010 311,009 Decrease021.50% 11,720 Decrease07.83%
2011 539,610 Increase073.50% 11,695 Decrease00.21%
2012 668,762 Increase023.93% 13,005 Increase011.20%
2013 680,355 Increase01.73% 14,059 Increase08.10%
2014 779,757 Increase014.61% 15,366 Increase09.30%
2015 878,365 Increase012.65% 19,468 Increase026.70%
2016 1,146,163 Increase030.49% 20,758 Increase06.63%
2017 1,092,483 Decrease04.68% 21,037 Increase01.34%
2018 1,116,810 Increase02.19% 20,799 Decrease01.14%
2019 1,148,811 Increase02.87% 19,630 Decrease05.62%
2020 453,877 Decrease060.49% 10,096 Decrease048.57%
2021 771,986 Increase070.09% 18,446 Increase082.71%
2022 1,392,698 Increase080.40% 21,405 Increase016.04%
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Costa Rica

Top international destinations

Busiest international routes to and from LIR (Jan. 2016 – Dec. 2016)
Airport Arrivals Departures Total 2015-2016 Carriers
1 Houston, United States1 151,602 147,711 299,313 Increase039.95% Southwest, United
2 Atlanta, United States 66,719 70,254 138,765 Increase00.15% Delta
3 Los Angeles, United States 66,971 70,254 134,623 Increase0402.19% Alaska, Delta, Southwest
4 New York City, United States 48,778 48,293 97,071 Increase033.36% Delta, Jetblue
5 Toronto, Canada 47,338 44,787 92,125 Increase07.88% Air Canada, Air Transat, Sunwing, WestJet
6 Miami, United States 44,183 47,153 91,336 Decrease021.99% American
7 Newark, United States 12,472 26,025 38,497 Decrease017.44% United
8 London, United Kingdom 15,592 14,593 30,185 Increase0 TUI Airways
9 Dallas, United States 13,774 14,594 28,323 Decrease027.90% American
10 Minneapolis, United States 13,608 14,013 27,621 Increase068.81% Delta, Sun Country
11 Chicago, United States 12,300 13,651 25,951 Increase025.39% United
12 Calgary, Canada 9,202 9,465 18,667 Increase01476.6% WestJet
13 Montreal, Canada 6,129 7,263 13,392 Decrease08.27% Air Canada, Air Transat, Sunwing
14 Panama City, Panama 5,245 5,897 12,194 Decrease08.63% Copa
15 Denver, United States 5,823 5,543 11,366 Increase071.82% Southwest, United
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Air Transportation Statistical Yearbook (Years 2015,[20] and 2016[21]).
Notes:

^1 United flies to Houston-Intercontinental Airport, and Southwest flies to Houston-Hobby Airport. The data here is for traffic between LIR and all airports in Houston.

See also

References

  1. ^ AIP - Part 3 Aerodromes Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ (in Spanish) Anuario Estadístico de Transporte Aéreo 2022.
  3. ^ "Liberia/Daniel Oduber International Airport". SkyVector. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Aeropuerto Internacional Daniel Oduber Quirós". Google Maps. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Facts and Figures about Liberia Airport". airport-technology.com. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Barahona, Hazel (1996-05-27). "Aeropuerto de Liberia aún no despega". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica.
  7. ^ Zúñiga, Alejandro (22 July 2021). "'Guanacaste Airport' is new name for LIR". The Tico Times. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  8. ^ Sánchez Quirós, Olger Rafael. "Historia del Cuerpo de Bomberos del Aeropuerto Internacional Daniel Oduber Quirós Liberia Guanacaste" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  9. ^ Mora, Emilia (1997-01-19). "Liberia despega". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica.
  10. ^ a b Rodríguez, Rebeca (2006-04-27). "Aeropuerto de Liberia con mayor espacio para aviones". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica.
  11. ^ a b Rodríguez, Rebeca (2007-03-23). "Gobierno inaugura obras en aeropuerto de Liberia". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica.
  12. ^ "ADC & HAS". Archived from the original on 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  13. ^ Alvarado, Karla Arias. "At last, the new Liberia airport terminal opens for business". TicoTimes.net. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  14. ^ Madrigal, Karla (2016-12-06). "La Republica" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  15. ^ "Alaska Adds 18 New Routes". Airline Geeks. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  16. ^ "American Airlines adds new international routes to winter schedule at PHL". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Delta NW23 Colombia / Costa Rica Network Expansion". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Delta Adds Seasonal Routes to Turks & Caicos, Antigua, St. Kitts & More". Thrifty Traveler. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  19. ^ "KLM Moves Liberia Service Resumption to late-2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  20. ^ Anuario Estadístico de Transporte Aéreo 2015. Dirección General de Aviación Civil de Costa Rica
  21. ^ Anuario Estadístico de Transporte Aéreo 2016. Dirección General de Aviación Civil de Costa Rica
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