Costa Rica’s main international gateway has closed the 2025–2026 high season with its busiest period on record, according to airport operator AERIS, underscoring the country’s continued momentum as a top travel destination in the Americas.
Juan Santamaría International Airport handled 3,215,208 passengers through its international terminal between November 2025 and April 5, 2026, a 7.9% increase over the same period a year earlier. The figures cement what is traditionally Costa Rica’s peak tourism window as the strongest in the airport’s history.
January 3 came out as the single busiest day the airport has ever recorded, with 28,714 international passengers transiting through the terminal in a 24-hour span. The date — falling at the tail end of the holiday rush — reflects the heavy concentration of inbound and outbound traffic that defines Costa Rica’s December-to-January high season.
AERIS attributed the surge largely to a wave of new and returning international service. American Airlines started seasonal flights from Chicago, Southwest Airlines added a route from Nashville, and Mexico’s Viva began operating from Monterrey. The season also marked the return of several long-haul carriers, including Air France from Paris, KLM from Amsterdam, Air Transat from Toronto and British Airways from London-Gatwick.
The expanded route map gave travelers a broader set of nonstop and one-stop options into San José from key markets in North America and Europe, particularly during the December and January peaks when capacity has historically been a constraint.
To keep pace with rising demand, AERIS is continuing to roll out elements of the airport’s long-term master plan. Construction is advancing on a new international arrivals area as part of a broader terminal expansion, and the operator is expanding its use of self-checkout kiosks and automated bag-drop technology aimed at reducing processing times at busy hours.
For visitors the new and returning routes mean more direct connections to Costa Rica from major North American and European hubs. At the same time, travelers passing through Juan Santamaría during peak periods should plan for longer queues at check-in, security and immigration, and arrive at the airport earlier than they might during shoulder months.
