Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles (five kilometers) southeast of San Juan. Over 4 million passengers board a plane at the airport per year according to FAA reports (4.6 million in 2008 ). It is owned and managed by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.
The airport opened on May 22, 1955. Located in the area known as Isla Verde, the airport was for many decades known as Isla Verde International Airport, until 1985, when then Governor Rafael Hernández Colón decided to name it after Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico's first democratically elected governor.
The airport served as a Caribbean hub for Pan Am, Trans Caribbean Airways, Eastern Air Lines, and a short lived focus city for TWA. It was also the hub of Puerto Rico's international airline, Prinair from 1966 until 1984, when Prinair went bankrupt. In 1986, American Airlines (along with American Eagle) established a hub in the airport to compete with Eastern Air Lines (American then ended hub operations due to flight capacity cuts and remained a focus city until April 4, 2011). In the past, the airport has been served by Mexicana de Aviación, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, ACES Colombia, Air Jamaica, Viasa, Avianca. Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Dominicana de Aviación, ATA Airlines and Northwest Airlines.
Terminals, airlines and destinations
The Luis Muñoz Marín Airport has one main terminal building with four concourses and a new terminal building which will have one concourse.
The landside area of the main terminal building is divided into four distinct ticket counter areas: the American Airlines area, the Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines area, and a large counter area containing all the other airlines. The American Airlines area is nearest to concourses D and E, the Continental and Delta area is nearest to concourse C and the remaining area is nearest to concouse B.
The original airport design had a different layout which consisted of three terminals B, C and D. New signing around the airport changed this.
Note: Gates 1A - 1F and gates 2 - 3 in concourse E are currently vacant due to American Airlines' San Juan hub cuts.
On 15 February 1970, a Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 that was flying to Isla Verde crashed shortly after takeoff from Las Américas International Airport in Punta Caucedo, Dominican Republic, near Santo Domingo, killing everyone on board, including Puerto Rico's national women's volleyball team and Dominican Carlos Cruz, a former world boxing champion who was going to San Juan for a rematch with Carlos Ortiz. See: Dominicana DC-9 air disaster
On 24 June 1972, Prinair Flight 191, which took off from Isla Verde Airport, crashed while attempting to land at Mercedita Airport in Ponce.
On 31 December 1972, baseball star Roberto Clemente and his companions died when their DC-7 crashed soon after takeoff from Isla Verde during a relief flight bound for Nicaragua. Neither the bodies of the victims nor the plane's wreckage were ever found.
In 1983, a hijacked Alitalia DC-10 landed at this airport, under orders by the hijacker.
In 1985, an American Airlines DC-10 taking off from Muñoz Marín to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas overran the runway and nosedived into a nearby lagoon. There were no injuries.
On 29 July 1986, Douglas C-53D N27PR of Borinquen Air crashed into a lagoon on approach. The aircraft was on an international cargo flight to Golden Rock Airport, Saint Kitts and Nevis when the starboard engine failed shortly after take-off and the decision was made to return to Carolina. One of the two crew was killed, the other was seriously injured.
On 1 March 1989, Douglas C-49J N28PR of Borinquen Air ditched on approach following a failure of the port engine. Although the landing gear was retracted, the crew did not feather the propellor. This resulted in increased drag which made flight impossible. The aircraft was on an international cargo flight from Golden Rock Airport, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
On 17 September 1989, Douglas C-47A N100DW of Tol Air Services was damaged beyond economic repair by Hurricane Hugo.
On 24 September 1998, - Trans-Florida Airlines Convair 240-13 (N91237) had an engine problem on take-off. It attempted to return to the airport, but lost altitude and was force landed in a salt water lagoon some 2 miles short of the runway. Though the aircraft was written off, the two crew and one passenger were uninjured.
On 4 April 2001, Douglas DC-3A N19BA of Roblex Aviation ditched in the sea after suffering a double engine failure while on a local training flight. Both crew escaped. Damage to the aircraft was described as minor.
On May 9, 2004, an American Eagle Super ATR, flight 5401, crash-landed when one of the tires popped. Seventeen people were injured, but no fatalities.
On 26 April 2009, Douglas DC-3C N136FS of Four Star Air Cargo was damaged beyond economic repair when a fire broke out in the cockpit. The aircraft was taxiing for take-off on a mail flight to Cyril E. King Airport, Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands.
On March 30, 2010, an M&N Aviation Short 330 (N106SW), with three people on board, was landing on runway 10 when its nose wheel collapsed.
In popular culture
In the 1982 movie Conexión Caribe, music group Los Chicos arrived at the Luis Muňoz Marín International Airport from the Dominican Republic on board an Oceanair airplane.
Music group Menudo recorded a music video for their song "Claridad", in 1981 at the nearby Isla Verde Beach in Piňones. A Lockheed L-1011 aircraft is seen landing at Luis Muňoz Marín International Airport in the video.
