Costa Rica’s Liberia International wins ‘best airport’ award

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, has once again been awarded by Airports Council International (ACI).

The industry trade group named the Costa Rica airport as the best in Latin America and the Caribbean for its size. ACI also recognized Liberia International Airport for its improvements in service quality.

“We are pleased that ACI has honored us with this award,” said César Jaramillo, general manager of CORIPORT, which operates the Guanacaste airport.

“It recognizes the efforts we make this year with year for optimizing the customer experience at the terminal facilities.”

The ACI Airport Service Quality awards are based on passenger surveys.

Located minutes west of downtown Liberia, LIR has seen dramatic passenger growth over the past 15 years to become Costa Rica’s second-busiest airport. A major driver of tourism to the Nicoya Peninsula and Guanacaste province, it handled more than 1.1 million travelers in 2019.

After a nearly six-month shutdown to commercial flights during the coronavirus pandemic, LIR reopened to tourists in early September. While service has been limited, the Tourism Board has previewed upcoming new flights to Guanacaste, and air traffic could increase as Costa Rica eases travel restrictions.

Recent projects at LIR have included a repaved and repainted runway and taxiways to improve safety at the increasingly busy airport.