Luis Muñoz Marín Airport named ‘Medium Airport of the Year 2024’
CAPA-Centre for Aviation honors Puerto Rico’s primary air hub for its growth in recent years.
Puerto Rico’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) has been named the 2024 “Medium Airport of the Year” by CAPA-Centre for Aviation, a provider of market intelligence in the aviation and travel industry. This is the top honor CAPA awards in the midsize airport category.
The industry group said it was recognizing “the airport’s recent success in attracting new airlines, its rapid passenger growth over recent years, and its status as one of the few U.S. airports that have been wholly privatised under a long-term lease arrangement.”
Jorge Hernández, president of Aerostar Puerto Rico, the airport’s operator, said that since Aerostar assumed management of SJU in 2013, the airport has undergone more than $300 million in investments to upgrade facilities, modernize infrastructure and improve the traveler experience.
He added that these efforts have contributed to a 58% increase in passenger traffic over the past decade, considering flight projections for the end of this year. In 2023, the airport reached a record 12 million passengers, with projections for 2024 estimating 13 million passengers.
The airport’s passenger growth has been fueled by strengthened connections to North America and the Eastern Caribbean, as well as significant post-COVID expansion.
“We’re honored to receive the ‘Medium Airport of the Year’ award from an organization that brings together airlines, airports and companies from all areas of the aviation sector around the world and is a global leader in market intelligence for the travel industry,” said Hernández.
“This distinction is a reflection of teamwork, of the progress we have achieved in all levels of service and offerings to passengers, with which we have managed to strengthen our medium-sized airport as a key hub between the Caribbean and the Americas, and it inspires us to continue improving,” he added.
The CAPA 2024 Global Aviation Awards for Excellence were presented at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Belgrade, Serbia. The awards are granted based on strict criteria in 10 categories, recognizing airports worldwide.
This latest recognition adds to two other awards received by SJU and Aerostar this year. In November, the American Association of Airport Executives and the Chicago Department of Aviation honored the airport with the Airports Going Green Award 2024 for its sustainability program.
The Airports Council International of Latin America and the Caribbean also awarded SJU the Green Airport Recognition 2024 in the Circular Economy category for its Taxiway H remodeling project.
