Viru Viru International Airport

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Viru Viru International Airport
IATA: VVI - ICAO: SLVR
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		abertis airports (Abertis)
Serves		Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Elevation AMSL		1,225 ft (373 m)
Coordinates		17°38′41″S, 63°08′07″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
16/34	11,483	3,500	Concrete

Viru Viru International Airport (IATA: VVI, ICAO: SLVR) is an aviation facility located in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

The idea to have an airport in Santa Cruz was conceived in 1976. Soon after, construction of the airport began. Viru Viru filled a hole in the Bolivian aviation industry: With Santa Cruz being the second largest city in the South American country, Viru Viru became an important link between La Paz and the rest of the country. Because La Paz is a high altitude city, it can be difficult to reach by car from other Bolivian cities, and many travellers choose to fly from Viru Viru instead.

Colombian president Álvaro Uribe has entered Bolivia through Viru Viru, as did Nicaraguan vice-president José Ríga and many other notables.

Viru Viru is able to handle the largest commercial jets. The airport is a hub for Lloyd Aereo Boliviano, and most of the flights that arrive here are either domestic flights, or flights from neighboring South American countries.

1 Operators
2 Incidents
3 Airlines serving Viru Viru
4 External Links

[edit] Operators

On March 1, 1997 the Government of Bolivia Peruentered into a 25 year contract with Airport Group International to operate the three largest airports in Bolivia – El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Jorge Wilstermann International Airport in Cochabamba and Viru Viru International Airport. Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos Sociedad Anonima (SABSA)was created to operate the concession. In 1999 Airport Group International was purchased by TBI plc and, in 2004, Spain's Abertis/AENA purchased TBI.

[edit] Incidents

On March 8, 2006, an Argentine military airplane flying from El Alto International Airport in La Paz to Viru Viru crashed after take off, killing all six people onboard.

[edit] Airlines serving Viru Viru

Aerolíneas Argentinas (Buenos Aires-Ezeiza)
Aerosur (Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cochabamba, Cobija, La Paz, Lima, Madrid, Miami, Puerto Suarez, Rurrenabaque, Salar de Uyuni, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Sucre, Trinidad, Tarija)
American Airlines (Miami)
Gol Transportes Aéreos (Campo Grande)
LAN Airlines (Santiago)
- LAN Peru (La Paz, Lima)
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (Bogota, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cancun, Caracas, La Paz, Lima, Madrid, Mexico City, Miami, Panama City, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Santiago, Sucre, Tarija, Trinidad, Washington-Dulles)
TACA
- TACA Peru (La Paz, Lima)
TAM Mercosur (Asunción, Cochabamba)