Rafael Hernández Airport

Rafael Hernández Airport, is a fast-growing airport located in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. It is named after the Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández Marín. The airport is the second international airport in Puerto Rico in the region of Porta del Sol, Puerto Rico's west coast.

Rafael Hernandez Airport mainly serves Puerto Rican westerners living in the Eastern Region of the United States. The airport serves as focus city to PAWA Dominicana.

In the past, the airport has been served by major carriers like Capitol Air, Pan Am, Kiwi International Air Lines, TWA, American Airlines, Delta Connection, to mention a few. Mostly due to little planning, research or advertising[citation needed], some of these services have been suspended. Other services have been discontinued as part of the airlines restructuring plan, or as a result of airlines going out of business.

History

The airport has been long associated with the adjacent military base, Ramey Air Force Base. It used to receive domestic commercial flights by Prinair as well as service from JFK International Airport in New York City with Capitol Air , and 707 passenger flights from Miami with Southeast Airlines . It is also noted for being the place that large clothing company Wrangler uses to land their planes filled with company-related cargo.

In 1988, Rafael Hernández Airport started to surface as an alternative to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, when Carnival Air Lines and ATA began jet services there. In the 1990s, American Airlines joined those two airlines. Later on, Pan Am (2) and TWA also came.

In the early 1990s Carnival Air Lines operated the first intra-Puerto Rican jet service from the airport to Ponce, with Boeing 727s and Airbus A300s.

Prinair suffered various accidents and ceased operations.

In 2000, North American Airlines re-opened passenger service with a non-stop flight to New York-JFK three times a week. Later on Continental Airlines joined North American with a daily flight to their hub in Newark. The evident success of service from the Aguadilla, caught the attention of Boston-Maine Airways that opened a route to Orlando-Sanford and Santo Domingo.

In 2004, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority announced that it would be remodelling and expanding BQN to accommodate more flights and passengers. An expansion of the terminal building and a new parking lot were among the projects in mind. The expansion was inaugurated on July 12, 2005.

In 2005, continuous passenger traffic growth caught the attention of Jet Blue Airways, which opened a daily flight to their hub in New York. Soon after the arrival of Jet Blue to the airport, North American ceased operations at the airport. Soon after, Jet Blue announced that it will be adding a second daily flight to New York-JFK.

Recent News

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Boeing performed its altitude tests on the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner in late January 2011. The airport hosted the sea level test. From Aguadilla the aircraft departed to the highest major commercial airport located in Bolivia to continue its tests.

Governor Fortuño Announces Charter Flights to Spain

The Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, announce at the International Fair of Tourism, in Madrid, that charter flights to the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona will commence on March 2011. The flights will begin in a weekly basis for a period of 6 months with goals of permanent service to the European cities. The flight to Madrid will be on Saturdays, while the one to Barcelona will be on Sundays. They will be on a Boeing 767 with capacity for 214 passangers in a 18/196 configuration.

Airport Transfer to City Government

A project that will allow the City of Aguadilla to operate and develop its airport was passed by the commonwealth's House and Senate and currently awaits the signature of the governor, Luis Fortuño.

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is studying expansion for the 3 main airports in Puerto Rico for 2011. Plans are underway to add service to Boston, Ft. Lauderdale, and Tampa from the airport.

Seaborne Airlines

Seaborne Airlines studies Aguadilla-San Juan service. Service will be from Aguadilla to San Juan Isla Grande Airport.

FedEx Plans Distribution Hub

FedEx plans to expand its existing operations at the airport to make it its Caribbean distribution hub.

Act 67

Act 67 of May 22, 2008 establishes incentives for charter airlines offering service to the airport. It guarantees profit of up to 10%, 50% discount on landing fees, and matching dollar per dollar base on volume proyections/available seats.

To benefit from the act Charter Airlines must carry 75% of the passengers on board with a 3+ nights reservation in a hotel in the region of 130 or less rooms.

Ahrens Airborne

Ahrens Aircraft due to set up operations at Punta Borinquen in Aguadilla to manufacture an aircraft known as the AR 404, was promised money by the Puerto Rican government to develop the airliner, but an investigation by the United States government prevented the money from getting to the company, and the project was called off with only two AR 404 airplanes built at Rafael Hernandez Airport .

NASA Aviation Safety Program

Hernandez Airport will host the initial flights of the recently modified S-3 Viking. The Viking was modified to become state-of-the-art icing research aircraft. This flights will seek to characterize the icing conditions that exist in the tropical convective layer of the atmosphere.

Facilities

Rafael Hernández Airport covers an area of 1,600 acres (647 ha) which hosts the longest runway in the Eastern Caribbean.

Runway

Runway 08/26: 11,702 x 200 ft (3,567 x 61 m), Surface: Asphalt

With Blast Pads and Shoulders: 13,440 X 300 ft (4,097 X 91 m)

At the beginning of the airport, the runway was built in 1940 as part of the Borinquen Field Army Air Corps Base. In 1948 The base was renamed Ramey Air Force Base complex. Ramey was home to the Strategic Air Command and housed a number of B-36, B-47 and B-52s. Due to the size of the B-36 the runway at Ramey had to be built to a length of 11,702 ft and a width of 200 ft, added a 870 ft Blast Pad at each end and a 50 ft shoulder on each side.

North Side

The North side of the airport constitutes a passenger terminal with an international side capable of handling flights of over 200 passengers. It also hosts the Main Cargo Terminal, the FedEx Terminal, and the General Aviation Terminal. The North side also houses the Copeca Jet Center Executive Terminal, as well as five service hangars. The military side of the airport is also located on the North side, housing the Air Station Borinquen, a United States Coast Guard facility.

South Side

The South side of the airport is the largest portion of the airport, but is currently undeveloped. Since the airport was transferred to Puerto Rico Port Authority in 1973, the South side has been object of disputes and political campaign. Since then promises have been abundant, yet more than three decades later, the South side is still undeveloped. Under the administration of Sila M. Calderón and Aníbal Acevedo Vilá a master plan was conceived to turn the South side into a cargo hub for the Caribbean. Local residents object to the use of the South side for Cargo rather than a modern passenger terminal.

Passenger Terminal The passenger terminal was recently upgraded to include air conditioning, more space for modern airline ticket counters and car rental counters. It constitutes two "gates" gate 14 and 15. Gate 14 is use for departures, while Gate 15 is use for arrivals. The terminal is divided into two sections, the domestic and the international sides. The domestic side is equipped with a United States Department of Agriculture facility, while the international side constitutes a United States Customs capable of handling up to 200 passengers.

Future Expansion

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a master plan to redevelop the Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla that will involve an investment of $1 billion over the next 20 years. PRPA plans call for the redevelopment of the Aguadilla airport on a scale that will rival LMM. The Aguadilla airport currently has two commercial passenger gates. The master plan calls for a total of 30 commercial passenger gates, 12 shy of the 42 commercial passenger gates that currently exist at LMM.

There are plans to expand the road that give access to the airport.

Martinair is expanding its air-cargo operations to Aguadilla Airport. The expansion to Aguadilla will facilitate more flights (up to 12 a week by 2010) to and from the island and serve as a value-added cold-chain hub for the transport of flowers and produce from South America for consumption in Puerto Rico, the mainland U.S., Europe and other parts of the world.

There are official plans to renovate the runway enroute to house FedEx expansion.

Cargo Airlines

The cargo section of the airport is divided in two sections, the Main Terminal and the FedEx Terminal. The FedEx Terminal is home to FedEx and its local affiliates. Talks are currently going for FedEx to increase their operations at Rafael Hernandez Airport and turn Aguadilla in a hub and distribution center for the Caribbean.The remaining Cargo Carriers are located in the Main Terminal.

Road Access

The airport can be accessed via two highways from PR-2.

Arecibo and Points East including Isabela and Camuy are connected to the airport via SR-110.

Mayagüez and Points south including downtown Aguadilla, Rincon, and Cabo Rojo are connected to the airport via SR-107.

Accidents and incidents

On 26 April 1991, Douglas DC-3C N136FS of Four Star Air Cargo was destroyed when a fire broke out in the cockpit whilst the aircraft was taxiing for take-off on a mail flight to Cyril E. King Airport, Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands.