Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR)
Liberia International Airport
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Coriport S.A.
Location Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
Elevation AMSL 82 m / 269 ft
Coordinates 10°35′35″N 85°32′44″W / 10.59306°N 85.54556°W / 10.59306; -85.54556Coordinates: 10°35′35″N 85°32′44″W / 10.59306°N 85.54556°W / 10.59306; -85.54556
Website Liberia Int'l Airport
Map
LIR

Location in Costa Rica

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,750 9,022 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 878,365
Passenger change 14–15 Increase12.7%

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Daniel Oduber Quirós) (IATA: LIR, ICAO: MRLB), also known as Liberia International Airport, is one of four international airports in Costa Rica. The airport is located in the city of Liberia in Guanacaste Province. It serves specially as a tourism hub for those who visit the Pacific coast and Western Costa Rica. The airport is named for Daniel Oduber Quirós, who served as president of Costa Rica from 1974 to 1978.

Daniel Oduber Quirós International airport is the country's second and Central America's ninth busiest airport. In 2015, Liberia International Airport reported 878,365 passengers, a 12.7% increase compared to 2014.[5]

History

Main building interior, passenger check-in area.

The idea for an airport in the province of Guanacaste was initially conceived during the government of Daniel Oduber Quirós (1974–1978).[6] The airport was initially named "Llano Grande", due to the name of the area that it was built in.[6] It would later be named "Aeropuerto Tomas Guardia", and the last name it received is that of ex-president Daniel Oduber Quirós, in honour of his work for the province of Guanacaste. However, most people call it "Liberia International Airport".

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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] 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.[9] Also in 2007 a new waiting area and airport counters were opened,[10] the airport was by then receiving more than 180,000 visitors yearly.[10]

Expanded terminal and new operator

The government of Costa Rica awarded CORIPORT, S.A., a 20-year concession to design, finance, construct and operate a new terminal building and its associated landside facilities, as well as approximately 36,000 m2 (390,000 sq ft) of airport land currently 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[11] who is also the project's operator.

The new terminal building, encompassing approximately 23,000 m2 (250,000 sq ft), features a contemporary design that both increases efficiency and capacity over the existing facility. Construction started on 19 October 2010; the terminal opened on 12 January 2012.[12] Further expansion of the terminal is set to commence in January 2017 and is scheduled to conclude in November; the expansion would add capacity for the airport to receive 5 new airlines.[13]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Current domestic routes from LIR.
Current Americas routes from LIR.
Current Europe routes from LIR.
AirlinesDestinations
Air Canada Rouge Toronto-Pearson
Seasonal: Montréal-Trudeau
Air Transat Seasonal: Montréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson
Alaska Airlines Los Angeles
American Airlines Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami
American Eagle Miami
Avianca El Salvador San Salvador
Copa Airlines Panama City–Tocumen
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Seasonal: Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul
JetBlue Airways New York-JFK
Seasonal: Boston
Nature Air Managua, San José-Juan Santamaría, San José-Tobías Bolaños, Tamarindo
Sansa Airlines San José-Juan Santamaría
Southwest Airlines Baltimore, Houston-Hobby, Los Angeles
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Sunwing Airlines Montréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson
Thomson Airways London-Gatwick
United Airlines Houston-Intercontinental
Seasonal: Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Newark
WestJet Toronto-Pearson
Seasonal: Calgary
Xtra Airways Seasonal Charter: Chicago-O'Hare, St. Louis

Statistics

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport is the second busiest airport in Costa Rica, with a constant growth in passenger traffic and reaching record numbers in 2015.

LIR passenger totals, 2000–2016 (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 Decrease4.45% 6,347 Decrease30.21%
2002 61,948 Decrease28.91% 6,467 Increase1.89%
2003 98,495 Increase59.00% 7,089 Increase9.62%
2004 203,823 Increase106.94% 9,955 Increase40.43%
2005 303,171 Increase48.74% 12,754 Increase28.12%
2006 391,567 Increase29.16% 13,852 Increase8.61%
2007 423,327 Increase8.11% 14,592 Increase5.34%
2008 442,902 Increase4.62% 16,615 Increase13.86%
2009 396,188 Decrease10.55% 12,716 Decrease23.47%
2010 311,009 Decrease21.50% 11,720 Decrease7.83%
2011 539,610 Increase73.50% 11,695 Decrease0.21%
2012 668,762 Increase23.93% 13,005 Increase11.20%
2013 680,355 Increase1.73% 14,059 Increase8.10%
2014 779,757 Increase14.61% 15,366 Increase9.30%
2015 878,365 Increase12.65% 19,468 Increase26.70%
2016 1,110,681 Increase26.44% 20,759 Increase6.63%
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Costa Rica

Top international destinations

Busiest international routes to and from LIR (Jan. 2015 – Dec. 2015)
Airport Arrivals Departures Total 2014-2015 Carriers
1 Houston, United States1 104,705 109,170 213,875 Increase22.71% Southwest, United
2 Atlanta, United States 67,796 70,969 138,765 Increase18.68% Delta
3 Miami, United States 57,612 59,476 117,088 Increase5.44% American
4 Toronto, Canada 42,876 42,519 85,395 Decrease1.14% Air Canada, Air Transat, Sunwing, WestJet
5 New York City, United States 37,101 35,687 72,788 Decrease6.30% Delta, Jetblue
6 Newark, United States 23,072 23,556 46,628 Increase41.58% United
7 Dallas, United States 18,777 20,504 39,281 Decrease16.92% American
8 Los Angeles, United States 13,931 12,876 26,807 Increase207.84% Alaska, Delta, Southwest
9 Chicago, United States 9,480 11,216 20,696 Decrease18.46% United
10 Minneapolis, United States 8,007 8,355 16,362 Increase22.91% Delta, Sun Country
11 Montreal, Canada 7,076 7,523 14,599 Increase43.06% Air Canada, Air Transat, Sunwing
12 Panama City, Panama 5,612 6,582 12,194 Decrease16.03% Copa
13 Charlotte, United States 5,954 6,124 12,078 Decrease14.01% American
14 San Salvador, El Salvador 3,451 3,784 7,235 Decrease0.71% Avianca
15 Boston, United States2 3,288 3,544 6,832 N.A. Jetblue
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Air Transportation Statistical Yearbook (Years 2014,[14] and 2015[15]).
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.
^2 The direct flight between SJO and Boston started on November 1, 2014.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) of Costa Rica, Section III (Airstrips)
  2. ↑ DGAC. Increased number of passengers in Costa Rican airports
  3. ↑ Airport information for LIR at Great Circle Mapper.
  4. ↑ Google Maps - Liberia
  5. ↑ La Nación. Liberia espera alza superior al 10% anual en el número de pasajeros
  6. 1 2 3 Barahona, Hazel (1996-05-27). "Aeropuerto de Liberia aún no despega". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Mora, Emilia (1997-01-19). "Liberia despega". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica.
  9. 1 2 Rodríguez, Rebeca (2006-04-27). "Aeropuerto de Liberia con mayor espacio para aviones". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica.
  10. 1 2 Rodríguez, Rebeca (2007-03-23). "Gobierno inaugura obras en aeropuerto de Liberia". La Nacion (in Spanish). Costa Rica.
  11. ↑ ADC & HAS
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ Madrigal, Karla (2016-12-06). "La Republica" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  14. ↑ Anuario Estadístico de Transporte Aéreo 2014. Dirección General de Aviación Civil de Costa Rica
  15. ↑ Anuario Estadístico de Transporte Aéreo 2015. Dirección General de Aviación Civil de Costa Rica


Transportation options from Liberia Airport

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