The Costa Rican gateway that rose from a downtown park

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before it became the busiest hub in Costa Rica, the nation's primary international airport sat in a different location entirely. Today, Juan Santamaría International Airport serves as a vital link between the Americas and Europe, having evolved from a small facility into a massive regional transit point.

Inaugurated on 2 May 1958, Juan Santamaría International Airport was built to replace a previous facility located in downtown San José, an area that is now occupied by Parque La Sabana. Initially called Aeropuerto Internacional el Coco due to its Alajuela Province site, the facility was subsequently renamed for national hero Juan Santamaría, a drummer boy killed in 1856 while protecting Costa Rica from American filibuster William Walker.

The airport's history is marked by significant infrastructure shifts and management challenges. In 1961, a highway was funded to connect the site to San José, and a major development plan was established in 1981. While the airport has seen steady growth—surpassing one million annual passengers in 1991—it has also faced regulatory scrutiny. In 2005, the International Civil Aviation Organization noted that the airport failed to meet certain safety regulations during a period of management disputes involving Alterra Partners.

Today, the airport is the second busiest in Central America, trailing only Panama's Tocumen International Airport. It handles a diverse array of aircraft, from narrow-body jets to wide-body models like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. While it serves as a major hub for airlines like Avianca and Copa, it also maintains a specialized domestic terminal used by Sansa Airlines. The facility has seen a consistent rise in traffic driven by tourism, reaching a record number of passengers in 2024.

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