Airport type Public Location Miramar, Puerto Rico 9/27 5,539 Code SIG Phone +1 787-741-3809 | Elevation AMSL 10 ft / 3 m 5,539 1,688 Elevation 3 m | |
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Address Calle Lindbergh, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico Similar San Juan Marriott Resort, Pan American Pier 2 West, San Juan Cruise Port, World Plaza Building, Caribe Hilton | ||
Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (IATA: SIG, ICAO: TJIG, FAA LID: SIG), also commonly known as Isla Grande Airport, is a small airport in Miramar, which is a district in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and is adjacent to the new Puerto Rico Convention Center, the San Juan Bay, and the Pan American Cruise Ship Terminal, and overlooks Cataño. While Isla Grande's main operation is with general aviation, it is still a commercial airport, dealing with some domestic and international commercial flights.
Contents
- History
- Facilities and aircraft
- Airlines and destinations
- Puerto Rico Army National Guard Aviation Support Facility
- Incidents
- References
As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 13,837 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 23,083 enplanements in 2009, and 38,363 in 2010. 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).
History
Originally constructed by the U.S. Navy as Naval Air Station Isla Grande just prior to World War II, the facility also served as Puerto Rico's main international airport until 1954, when Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport was built. Until that year, international airlines such as Deutsche Luft Hansa, Iberia Airlines, Pan Am and other majors flew to Isla Grande. However, since Isla Grande airport was not built to accept jets, all international airlines then moved their operations in Puerto Rico to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, then known as – but not named – Isla Verde International Airport.
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.
On October 26, 2003, the airport made history by becoming the first Puerto Rican site of a SCCA Grand Prix race.
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.
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.
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 would transition its operations to the neighboring Luis Muñoz Marin Intl Airport with complete pullout on January 16, 2013. That move, however, has not materialized as of 2015.
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 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 9/27 with an asphalt surface measuring 5,539 by 100 feet (1,688 x 30 m).
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.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service at this airport:
Puerto Rico Army National Guard Aviation Support Facility
The Puerto Rico Army National Guard Aviation Support Facility is the only military site on Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport. Its mission is to support the Puerto Rico Army National Guard, Det 1 A Company 1-149th GSAB, and Company D, 1st Battalion, 114th Aviation Regiment Detachment 1, Company B. The military aircraft at this facility are the UH72 Lakota, the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and the Beechcraft C-12 Huron.