Plans for a major international airport in the Alajuela canton of Orotina have been postponed, Costa Rica’s Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) says.
“We have to forget about the airport in Orotina for a few years and concentrate on the Santamaría,” Transport Minister Rodolfo Méndez said, per La Nación.
The news means Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) near San José will remain Costa Rica’s primary airport for the foreseeable future. Studies conducted before the pandemic indicated SJO can feasibly serve in this role until at least 2040.
“With the pandemic, it is easy to understand that it has more life,” Méndez said. “What we have to see is how we manage the extension of that life, for the user, to meet the demand in the best possible way.”