New Domestic Terminal Inaugurated at Juan Santamaria Airport in Costa Rica

Costa Rica inaugurated the new domestic terminal at the Juan Santamaria Airport this Monday morning.  The construction work of the new building began in November 2017 and although it was expected to be ready by the end of March it took an additional month to complete the work.
The new terminal operates 38% on solar energy, has counter space for domestic airlines and comfortable boarding rooms as well as an adequate space for Migration authorities; it is expected to serve close to 200,000 travelers a year, according to estimations by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation. 
“We have a capacity that exceeds by far the current demand, but this building was created thinking on the growth for the next 15 years. We have the capacity to service 600 passengers at peak hours, if you translate that to 12 passenger planes that means 50 flights an hour; right now we don’t even reach 50 flights in a day”, explained Eduardo Charpentier, Engineering director of Aeris, company that administers the terminal.
At this time the only domestic airline operating out of the Juan Santamaria Airport is Sansa; however, it is expected that within the next few months several other airlines will start operating in the country.
The design of the building was thought out to offer users an experience that identifies the country, the wood walls, green exteriors and typical Costa Rican decorations.
​The terminal also has its own parking lot for travelers as well as for employees. According to Charpentier, considering that 80% of the passengers are travelers in connection, a sidewalk is being built to connect the domestic and international terminals.