| Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport Isla Grande Airport Aeropuerto Isla Grande |
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| IATA: SIG – ICAO: TJIG – FAA LID: SIG | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Puerto Rico Ports Authority | ||
| Location | Miramar, Puerto Rico | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 9 ft / 3 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Map | |||
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TJIG
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 9/27 | 5,542 | 1,689 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 101,694 | ||
| Passenger Movement | 105,107 | ||
| Based aircraft | 299 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] Operations from the FAA[2] Passengers from the Puerto Rico Ports Authority |
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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 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.
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Originally constructed by the U.S. Navy as Naval Air Station Isla Grande just prior to World War II[3], 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 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.[4]
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.
Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport covers an area of 102 acres (41 ha) which contains one runway:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Flamenco | Culebra, Vieques, St Croix, St Thomas |
| M&N Aviation | Barahona, La Romana, Punta Cana, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo, Vieques |
| PAWA Dominicana | Santo Domingo |
| Roblex Aviation | St. Maarten, St. Thomas |
| Seaborne Airlines | St. Croix, St. Thomas, Vieques |
| Vieques Air Link | Culebra, Vieques |
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