Costa Rican authorities have publicly expressed their concern about the conditions in which Daniel Oduber International Airport, located in Liberia, Guanacaste, is operating. As published by the Costa Rican media outlet El Observador, officials believe that the growing flow of tourists is affecting the quality of service provided at a terminal that is known for receiving many of the country’s most “exclusive” visitors.
The high traffic and the conditions in which tourists wait when arriving or leaving the country are among the primary concerns of the authorities during their meetings.
The Minister of Transportation, Luis Amador, even considers the relevance of enabling an additional room when, due to the high traffic, the airport is “collapsed.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism, William Rodríguez, said that they have reports of high peaks of visitation during Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays, constituting four of the seven days of the week.
On the other hand, the Airline Association (ALA) warned about two specific problems.
- The first is difficulties in the belts to transport baggage to the aircraft.
- The second complaint is the large number of tourists who have to disembark the planes by stairs to a sector adjacent to the runway, walk around the grounds, stand in line outside the terminal, and wait until there is finally space to enter.
The airport, known for receiving the most exclusive guests of the country, does not have enough bridges or sleeves. This has also been compounded by the lack of air conditioning in some areas of the airport, which, despite the complaints of some sectors, the terminal administration considers part of the experience.
The airport’s general manager, César Jaramillo, recognizes that the flow of passengers has increased since 2021. In his opinion, the service being provided responds to the stipulated times, and the operation is normal. He says he is aware of the quality required to be provided at this terminal and states that they are doing so.
However, the absence of bridges for tourists to move from the airplane to the terminal in a simple and safe way is one of the main complaints, both by the public administration and by the airlines.
On March 21, 2023, the director of Civil Aviation, Fernando Naranjo, complained about the low number of bridges that had operated that weekend. At that time, only two out of four were functioning. This was in addition to the fact that there was a storm, so pilots asked to land on bridges for passenger safety.
Another complaint of the president of ALA, a representative of the airlines operating in the terminal, is that the transfer of baggage “collapses” due to the state of the screening equipment. Airport representatives acknowledge that more investment is needed in the future but maintain that the airport continues to provide first-rate service.
