Starting on Dec. 1, Costa Rica’s Tobías Bolaños International Airport in Pavas, west of San José, will operate from 6-9 p.m. after night hours were suspended in October.
As a cost-cutting measure, the terminal had been closed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., which helped save ₡180 million ($334,000) a year, the Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) reported.
The reopening will not affect the agency’s budget because pilots will not be assisted by airport flight operators whose schedules at the control tower end at 6 p.m. Instead, pilots will be able to take off and land with the assistance of operators from the Public Security Ministry’s Air Surveillance Service, who currently work at the terminal year-round, the DGAC reported in a news release Monday.
Ministry staff will assist pilots and will be responsible for operating the runway’s lighting system, the DGAC stated. “Operators will use a radio frequency and procedures that were successfully tested last week,” the agency said.
The DGAC stated that the move aims to promote Costa Rica’s tourism sector.
