Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport

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Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport

Isla Grande Airport
Aeropuerto Isla Grande
Isla Grande Airport (SIG), San Juan, Puerto Rico (12173864883).jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner Puerto Rico Ports Authority
Serves San Juan, Puerto Rico
Location Isla Grande
Elevation  AMSL 10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates 18°27′24″N66°05′54″W / 18.45667°N 66.09833°W / 18.45667; -66.09833
Map
USA Puerto Rico location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
SIG
Location of airport in Puerto Rico
Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
9/275,5391,688Asphalt
Source: FAA [1] GCM [2] Google Maps [3]

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport( IATA : SIG, ICAO : TJIG, FAA LID : SIG), also commonly known as Isla Grande Airport, is an airport in Isla Grande, a district in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and is adjacent to the Puerto Rico Convention Center, the San Juan Bay, and the Pan American Cruise Ship Terminal, and overlooks Cataño. While Isla Grande's main activity is general aviation, it is still a commercial airport, handling domestic and international commercial flights.

Contents

It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). [4]

History

NAS San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the mid-1940s NAS San Jose Puerto Rico NAN6-47.jpg
NAS San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the mid-1940s

Originally constructed by the U.S. Navy as Naval Air Station Isla Grande just prior to World War II, [5] the facility also served as Puerto Rico's main international airport until 1954, when San Juan Isla Verde International Airport (subsequently renamed Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in 1985) was built. Until that year, all international airlines, such as Deutsche Luft Hansa, Iberia Airlines, Delta and Pan Am, flew to Isla Grande.

Until 1971, the airport also hosted Coast Guard Air Station San Juan. That year, the Coast Guard relocated its air station to Ramey Air Force Base on Puerto Rico's northwest coast.

Isla Grande was renamed in honor of United States Air Force Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci, an F-111 pilot who was killed in action during Operation El Dorado Canyon (the 1986 airstrike of Libya).

A controversy regarding Isla Grande and Dorado Airport surfaced in 2003. Dorado Airport wanted to expand and attract the private aviation sector that has been Isla Grande's main business for so long. Dorado airport eventually became a victim of urban development in Dorado and no longer exists.

In early 2003, it was announced that the Puerto Rico Grand Prix would be held on a 1.6 mile, 10-turn, temporary circuit on the airport's runway and taxiways as the season final of the 2003 SCCA Trans Am Series. The race, held on October 26, 2003, was won by Puerto Rican native Wally Castro. [6] [7] The event was initially on the 2004 Trans-Am Series schedule, but was cancelled a month before its running. [8]

In 2006, after a detailed impact study and many rumors about the future of the airport, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority announced that Isla Grande airport would remain open for the foreseeable future, mostly because of its key function as the primary reliever for the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. [9]

On August 4, 2011, the FAA announced that they were planning to close the airport's control tower due to budget cuts, since they operate it instead of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.[ citation needed ]

On July 8, 2012, airport officials denied via written communication to a local newspaper of "any plans to eliminate or privatize the airport, since the airport is one of the most important airports for general aviation on Puerto Rico, taking into account that its operation approximates around 300 daily operations." On that same newspaper it was published that Seaborne Airlines, a regional air carrier, would transition its scheduled passenger operations to the neighboring San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU) with complete pullout on January 16, 2013. [10]

For a short period of time between 2007 and 2009, the airport became the flight hub of Puerto Rico's unofficial flag carrier, Prinair, when that airline briefly returned to operating.

Facilities and aircraft

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport covers an area of 102 acres (41 ha) at an elevation of 10 feet (3.0 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 9/27 with an asphalt surface measuring 5,539 by 100 feet (1,688 by 30 m). [1]

For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2013, the airport had 116,447 aircraft operations, an average of 319 per day: 92% general aviation, 6% air taxi, and 2% military. At that time there were 232 aircraft based at this airport: 33% single-engine, 37% multi-engine, 1% jet, 24% helicopter, and 6% military. [1]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Air Flamenco Culebra, Vieques
Fly The Whale St. Croix [11]
M&N Aviation Charter: La Romana, Punta Cana, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo–Las Americas, Vieques
Vieques Air Link Culebra, Vieques

Statistics

Carrier shares (Dec 2014 – Nov 2015) [12]
CarrierPassengers (arriving and departing)
Vieques
34,480(68.75%)
Charter
15,680(31.25%)
Top domestic destinations (June 2018 – May 2019) [12]
RankCityAirportPassengers
1 Culebra, Puerto Rico Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) 8,350
2 Vieques, Puerto Rico Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) 8,220

San Juan Army Aviation Support Facility

The San Juan Army Aviation Support Facility operated by Puerto Rico Army National Guard (PRARNG) is the only military site on Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport. Its mission is to provide aviation maintenance support, and repair to the Puerto Rico Army National Guard and the following units: [13]

The military aircraft at this facility are UH-72 Lakota and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and the Beechcraft C-12 Huron.

Incidents and accidents

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 FAA Airport Form 5010 for SIG PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ Airport information for Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport at Great Circle Mapper.
  3. ↑ "Isla Grande Airport". Google Maps. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on September 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Building the Navy's Bases in World War II". Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Puerto Rico Grand Prix Releases Circuit Map". The Auto Channel. July 25, 2003. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ Paese, Gabrielle (October 31, 2003). "Wally Castro Scores Upset Victory At P.R. Grand Prix". Puerto Rico Herald. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Puerto Rico Grand Prix canceled". Motorsport.com. September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Historic Puerto Rico GA Airport Saved! Isla Grande Economic Analysis Sways Politicos". Aero-News Network. July 18, 2006.
  10. ↑ "Niegan el cierre del Aeropuerto de Isla Grande Archived July 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , Vocero de Puerto Rico July 8, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Fly the Whale to Launch Daily Flights Between St. Croix and Puerto Rico March 15". February 12, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "San Juan, PR: Isla Grande (SIG)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. February 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ "PR ARNG Army Aviation Support Facility".
  14. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-39 (DC-2) 38-524 Coamo". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  15. ↑ "United Flight Lands at Wrong Airport". Chicago Tribune .
  16. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident CASA C-212 Aviocar 200 N355CA Mayaguez-Eugenio M. de Hostos Airport (MAZ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Final docket NTSB# ERA15FA096". NTSB.
  18. ↑ "Una avioneta con cuatro tripulantes cae en la Bahía de San Juan". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). July 4, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
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