Tobías Bolaños International Airport () is one of the four international airports in Costa Rica, and the secondary airport serving the city of San José, after Juan Santamaría International Airport. It is located in downtown San José, in Pavas District, San José Canton. The airport is named for Costa Rican pilot Tobias Bolaños Palma (1892-1953).
The airport has one runway (1566mx23m). It lies at an elevation of 1002 meters AMSL. The airport has no instrument approach procedures and can only accept VFR flights.
This airport is the main base for general aviation in the country, as well as most private flight operations, charter flights, tourism, and aviation schools.
Charter Flights While there are no schedule commercial flight operators, several air taxi and charter companies operate from Tobías Bolanos International Airport and serving regional airport and remote strips throughout Costa Rica, as well as several international destinations.
Costa Rica Destinations: Altagracia, Barra del Tortuguero, Batán, Golfito, Guápiles, La Fortuna (Arenal), Los Sueños, Nosara, Palmar Sur, Puerto Jimenez, Punta Islita, Quepos La Managua, San Isidro del General,Tamarindo, Tambor, Zona Franca América, and others.
Operators carrying dimestic passanges from the airport in 2022 incuded VEASA, Prestige Wings, Líneas Aréreas Trans'Costa Rica, Aerotours, Aero Caribe, CarmonAir, Helijet Aviation, Vola Helicópetros and Aires de Pavas.
Aviation schools There are eight flight schools operating out of Tobías Bolaños International Airport. Some offer additional aviation courses such as cabin crew training and dispatcher training. They have varying fleets of single and multi-engine aircraft for Ab initio pilot training.
AENSA - Academia de Ensenanza Aeronautica Aerobell Flight School Aeroformacion Aerotica CPEA - Centro Profesional de Enseñanza Aeronáutica ECDEA - Escuela Costarricense de Aviacion (Part of CarmonAir and Costa Rica Green Airways) IACA - Instituto Aeronautico Centroamericano IFA - Instituto de Formacion Aeronautica
Passenger statistics
These data show number of passenger movements into the airport, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Costa Rica's Statistical Yearbooks. Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Passengers 101,573 93,048 84,194 89,737 18,531 15,754 25,293 32,164 Growth (%) 2.65% 8.39% 9.52% 6.58% 79.35% 14.99% 60.55% 27.17% Source: Costa Rica's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC). Statistical Yearbooks(Years 2010,DGAC Yearbook 2010 2011,DGAC Yearbook 2011 2012,DGAC Yearbook 2012 2013,DGAC Yearbook 2013 and 2014)
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Passengers 15,598 39,606 46,320 62,745 85,484 87,650 95,356 120,617 128,106 104,343 Growth (%) N.A. 153.92% 16.95% 35.46% 36.24% 2.53% 8.79% 26.49% 6.21% 18.55% Source: Costa Rica's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC). Statistical Yearbooks(Years 2000-2005,Oficina de Planificación, DGAC de Costa Rica 2006,DGAC Yearbook 2006 2007,DGAC Yearbook 2007 2008,DGAC Yearbook 2008 and 2009DGAC Yearbook 2009 )
See also Transport in Costa Rica List of airports in Costa Rica
References
External links Accident history for San José-Tobias Bolanos International Airport at Aviation Safety Network Dirección General de Aviación Civil de Costa Rica Costa Rican Aviation Authority Nature Air Aerobell Airlines