Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerPuerto Rico Ports Authority
ServesIsla De Vieques, Puerto Rico
Hub forVieques Air Link
Elevation AMSL49 ft / 15 m
Coordinates18°08′05″N 65°29′38″W / 18.13472°N 65.49389°W / 18.13472; -65.49389
Map
VQS is located in Puerto Rico
VQS
VQS
Location of airport in Puerto Rico
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9/27 4,300 1,311 Asphalt
Source: FAA[1] GCM[2] Google Maps[3]

Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (IATA: VQS, ICAO: TJVQ, FAA LID: VQS) is a public airport on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico. Because a large amount of Vieques's yearly revenue comes from the tourism industry, this airport plays an important part in the Vieques economy. For decades, the airport has been the hub of Vieques Air Link, and also a destination for a number of small airlines.

It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year).[4]

History

When anti-military demonstrators started flocking into Vieques in 1999, Vieques Airport saw a considerable increase to its normal yearly average of passengers. In addition, many celebrities who travelled from all over Puerto Rico and the rest of Latin America to join the protesters arrived at Vieques through this airport. When Carla Tricoli, a Vieques native, won the 2002 Miss Puerto Rico contest, her first flight as a beauty queen landed at Vieques Airport.

The airport does not accept jet aircraft, but several international flights operate from it. Most of the commercial aviation operations are domestic flights such as to Ceiba, to Isla Grande Airport in San Juan, and to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, a suburb of San Juan. Air ambulance flights to San Juan are also available.

Early in 2005, plans were announced to expand the airport's runway, so that the airport could accept flights by smaller jets. This would be done in preparation for American Eagle to start operations to the airport on behalf of American Airlines via a code sharing agreement. The airline was expected to start flights to Vieques from San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in early 2010; however, American Eagle decided not to begin service and then subsequently ceased all code sharing flights on behalf of American in the Caribbean.

Facilities

Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport covers an area of 124 acres (50 ha) at an elevation of 49 feet (15 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 9/27 with an asphalt surface measuring 4,300 by 75 feet (1,311 by 23 m).[1]

Airlines and destinations

The airport's main building as seen from a departing airplane

Scheduled passenger service is provided by the following airlines:[5]

AirlinesDestinations
Air Sunshine San Juan–LMM, St. Thomas, Tortola, Virgin Gorda
Cape Air San Juan–LMM
M&N Aviation Charter: San Juan–Isla Grande
Silver Airways San Juan–LMM
Vieques Air Link Ceiba, Culebra, San Juan–Isla Grande

Statistics

Carrier shares (November 2014 – October 2015)[6]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
Vieques
73,020
Cape Air
42,010
Sunshine
10,630
Top domestic destinations (November 2014 – October 2015)[6]
Rank City Airport Passengers
1 Ceiba, PR José Aponte de la Torre Airport (JRV) 29,000
2 San Juan, PR Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) 21,000
3 San Juan, PR Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) 14,000
4 Christiansted, VI Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) 4,000
5 Culebra, PR Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) 2,000

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

  1. 1 2 FAA Airport Form 5010 for VQS PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ Airport information for Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport at Great Circle Mapper.
  3. ↑ "Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport". Google Maps. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on September 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Getting to Vieques" (PDF). www.wvieques.com. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Vieques, PR: Antonio Rivera Rodriguez (VQS)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. October 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  7. ↑ Accident description for N862JA at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on November 7, 2020.
  8. ↑ Ranter, Harro (August 17, 1983). "ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft A100 King Air N129D Vieques Airport (VQS)". Aviation Safety Network >. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
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