Gallery: A New Airport Opens in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s Sansa Airlines made the first scheduled flights to Cóbano on Oct. 15, 2023. The first to arrive was this Cessna Grand Caravan 208B EX, welcomed here by Cóbano Airport ground personnel. The aircraft from Costa Rica’s Liberia Guanacaste Airport picked up approximately half a dozen passengers at Cóbano and continued to San Jose.

Scheduled Sansa service to Tambor has been discontinued.

Capt. Andrés Esquivel (right) and co-pilot Alfredo Sanchez landed this Sansa Airlines Cessna Grand Caravan 208B EX at the new Cóbano Airport on Sunday morning, Oct. 15, marking the advent of scheduled airline service at the new field.

“We are making history,” said Esquivel.

Costa Rica Green Airways plans to commence scheduled flights to Cóbano--six per day--on Nov. 15, 2023, and like Sansa, plans to discontinue its scheduled service to Tambor.

The new airport at Cóbano has a total runway length of 1300 meters (4,265 ft.), compared with 830 meters (2,723 ft.) at Tambor. Also unlike Tambor, it’s west-east orientation allows for landings and takeoffs in either direction.

Costa Rica Green Airways and its CarmonAir Charter affiliate offer aircraft for charter and in fact run a charter-only airport at Manzanillo on the Pacific Coast, serving Santa Teresa, Santa Teresa North and Playa Hermosa, home to fashion and show business figures and tech magnates.

“People from the U.S. and from all over the world,” says Costa Rica Green Airways and CarmonAir founder Everardo Carmona Rojas. “Entrepreneurs, and big investors who are trying to find peace, wellness and nature. Rock stars.

“They have found a good spot in Santa Teresa. It’s the way they go back to being normal humans and share with their loved ones the peace and the nature that Costa Rica offers.”

CarmonAir has just taken delivery of a new Caravan 208B, shown here at Manzanillo. Another is expected in December.

Costa’ Rica’s San Jose-headquartered SAAT (Soporte Asistido Aéreo y Terrestre) air ambulance service has set up an office at the new Cóbano Airport, allowing it to reduce travel times, especially for tourists in need of emergency medical help.

SAAT has two other helicopters and five fixed-wing aircraft in addition to the Airbus Helicopters H125 (AS350 B2) shown here, as well as a fleet of half a dozen ground vehicles, and two Ducati motorcycles.

Costa Rica’s AeroCaribe Air Charter has commenced revenue service to the new Cóbano Airport.

“The addition of Cobano Airport to our network is a win-win situation,” the company says. “Santa Teresa and Montezuma are gems on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, known for their pristine beaches, lush jungles, and vibrant local culture.

“By operating from Cobano Airport, we aim to facilitate the exploration of these remarkable destinations.”

Pictured here at the facility’s ceremonial opening in August are a Piper PA34 Seneca twin and a Cessna U206 single (behind). The company has three of each type.

Costa Rica’s new Sunshine Air is awaiting approval from DGAC (the national Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil) in hopes of beginning charter operations in January, including service to the new Cóbano Airport. Pictured here at the facility’s ceremonial opening in August are Sunshine Air founder Rodolfo Valverde (center) flanked by Cóbano Airport partners Santiago Guinea (left) and Francisco Javier Rodriguez, aka “Patxi.”

The aircraft is a five-passenger Piper Aztec. It’s to be augmented by a Piper Seneca.

Sunshine Air has conducted training flights to Cóbano, Valverde says, citing a “very safe” runway at the new field. Valverde is the director general of IFA, Costa Rica’s Instituto de Formación Aeronáutica training academy at the Tobias Bolaños Airport in San Jose. IFA training at Cóbano is possible too, he says, as is a Sunshine Air office.

Captain Henry Tencio is director of operations at Sunshine Air and IFA.

“We are thrilled to welcome the new Cóbano Airport, a game-changer for local development and job opportunities in the area,” says Mauricio Alpizar, general manager of San Jose-based HeliJet Costa Rica.

“For passenger transport, scenic tours, cinematic flights, or emergency medical services, HeliJet Costa Rica is here,” he says. The company offers rotor- and fixed-wing lift via nearly a dozen aircraft types.

“During the high season, our helicopters and airplanes will be landing on a daily basis,” Alpizar says of Cóbano.

An AgustaWestland AW-109E twin helicopter is shown here with Costa Rica’s iconic Arenal Volcano.

In addition to a waiting area and offices for Sansa and Costa Rica Green, the all-new terminal at Costa Rica’s Cóbano Airport features a café, a local goods boutique and a Budget Rental Car outlet. Three local taxi and tourist activity services have offices there too.