For more than two decades, Costa Rica’s Brunca region, the southern Pacific zone that includes Osa, Golfito, Corredores, Coto Brus, Buenos Aires and Puerto Jiménez, has debated the construction of an international airport that never quite gets built. The project has repeatedly appeared in government development plans, cleared various bureaucratic hurdles and then stalled before construction could begin.
Understanding why requires looking at the project’s history, the groups backing it, the opposition it has faced, and whether passenger demand justifies the investment. The idea dates to the early 2000s and gained significant momentum in 2008 when the first technical master plan was completed.
The proposed airport site is located in Palmar Sur, in the Osa, on land known as Fincas 8, 9, 10 and 11, former banana plantations owned by the CompañÃa Bananera de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of United Fruit Company, until the company left the region in 1984.
Ownership later passed to the Costa Rican state, primarily through the National Rural Development Institute (Inder) and the National Cooperative Development Institute (Infocoop). Since then, the airport has appeared in the development agendas of multiple administrations, including those of Abel Pacheco, Óscar Arias, Laura Chinchilla, Rodrigo Chaves and now Laura Fernández, without advancing to construction.
The latest push began in 2023, when updated technical studies concluded the airport would require a runway approximately 2,600 meters long. That effort quickly encountered a major obstacle when archaeologists confirmed the presence of significant pre-Columbian material on the site.
A more detailed survey conducted in 2025 found dense concentrations of artifacts across several sectors. As a result, an archaeological rescue operation was carried out between March and June 2026, covering 12 separate sites and recovering material before any future construction could proceed.
With that work now complete, the project is technically eligible to move forward, but only after a new master plan replaces the outdated 2008 version. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT), through the Civil Aviation General Directorate (DGAC), is currently working on that update.
Costa Rica’s Federated College of Engineers and Architects (CFIA) has argued that the original plan no longer reflects current tourism growth or market realities. The organization says the new study must reassess runway length, land requirements, financing options and, most importantly, realistic passenger demand.
The difference between projections is significant. The 2008 master plan anticipated nearly one million passengers annually by 2030. By contrast, Costa Rica’s current National Airport Plan projects approximately 126,000 passengers by 2039 and about 242,000 by 2043.
Who Supports the Project?
Support for the airport has largely come from government officials across multiple administrations, who have framed it as a catalyst for regional development and tourism growth. Former president Rodrigo Chaves was among its most vocal advocates, arguing that the runway would be far more than transportation infrastructure and could serve as an engine for economic growth in the southern zone.
The CFIA, while calling for updated planning and demand analysis, also supports the broader concept. The organization argues that a southern international airport could reduce pressure on Costa Rica’s two existing international gateways, Juan SantamarÃa International Airport and Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport, potentially extending their operational lifespan.
Tourism industry specialists cited in recent discussions point to two major trends supporting the project: steady growth in tourism throughout the southern Pacific region and an increasing number of foreign residents settling there permanently. Supporters also note that major land expropriations may not be necessary because most of the proposed site is already under state ownership through Inder and Infocoop.
Why Has Opposition Persisted?
Opposition to the project predates the current government and has remained consistent for more than 20 years. The most immediate concerns come from residents living on the proposed site. Fincas 9 and 10 alone are home to more than 350 farming families, many of whom have worked the land since the banana company departed in 1984, years before the airport proposal emerged.
Organizations such as the Organización de Lucha Campesina por Nuestras Tierras have opposed the project through legal challenges and public demonstrations, arguing that it threatens established communities and livelihoods. Environmental and academic critics have also raised concerns.
Researchers from the University of Costa Rica, including biologist Jorge Lobo, have described the area as environmentally sensitive. The university’s Kioscos Socioambientales outreach program has characterized the airport proposal as a major socio-environmental conflict.
Their concerns extend beyond the runway itself. Critics argue that a new international airport could accelerate real estate development, transform local economies and cultures, and trigger a process some researchers call the “guanacastización” of Osa, a reference to how tourism-driven development reshaped parts of Guanacaste’s Pacific coast.
Critics say such changes could increase land speculation, displace farming communities and replace stable agricultural employment with more seasonal tourism-related jobs.
The airport site is also located less than one kilometer from the Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, the largest wetland on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast and a Ramsar site recognized for its international ecological importance. The area supports numerous migratory bird species and other wildlife.
In addition, the project sits near the Finca 6 archaeological park, part of the pre-Columbian stone sphere sites designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Opponents argue that increased air traffic, nearby development and population growth could threaten the area’s cultural and archaeological value.
An earlier environmental impact study prepared for the project also drew criticism from multiple sectors over data quality, methodology and community consultation. That study remains on hold and has not received final approval. Whether the airport is ultimately necessary remains the central question that has kept the proposal frozen for more than two decades.
Supporters point to growing tourism, increasing foreign residency and congestion at Costa Rica’s existing international airports. They argue that improved air access is essential if the southern zone is to continue attracting visitors and investment. Opponents counter that current passenger forecasts are far below the levels envisioned in the original master plan. With fewer than 250,000 annual passengers projected by the early 2040s, they question whether a full international airport is economically justified.
The CFIA itself has identified profitability as one of the project’s major unresolved challenges, alongside flood risks associated with surrounding wetlands and rivers and the site’s ongoing environmental and archaeological sensitivities. Critics further argue that many of the region’s underlying challenges, including land tenure issues, support for local agriculture and rural development, would not be solved by an airport and could worsen if farmland is converted into tourism-driven real estate projects.
More than 20 years after it was first proposed, the Southern Zone International Airport remains in the same position it has occupied through multiple administrations: technically alive, periodically revived, but still awaiting an updated master plan, environmental approvals and enough political momentum to overcome the opposition that has repeatedly slowed its progress.
