By The Star Staff
Aerostar Airport Holdings on Tuesday celebrated its tenth anniversary as the private operator of the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport with the inauguration of the new passenger terminal D, rehabilitated at over $14 million, company President Jorge Hernandez said.
Hernandez indicated that as of December 2022, the total net investment at the airport amounts to $274 million in capital improvements and new services that the corporation has made since it took over the reins of the airport in 2013.
Aerostar plans to invest another $250 million over the next five years and the $130 million already invested in airport maintenance, cleaning, and security over the past ten years.
In 2013, the company made an advance payment of $615 million to the Government as part of the agreement to take over the administration of the facilities. Since then, it has contributed annually by way of revenue sharing to the Ports Authority, a total of $47 million up to now.
Hernández added that Aerostar recently created a $2.1 million fund to encourage airlines to increase their seat capacity. This aims to increase passenger traffic and make Puerto Rico a more competitive destination.
“The airport is a fundamental asset for the growth of the tourism market and the general economy of Puerto Rico. For this reason, in these past ten years, we have invested in transforming it. However, although a significant part of this investment is not evident to travelers’ eyes, it is the one that has the greatest impact on them,” said Hernández.
LMM Airport currently ranks 38th among all airports in the United States and eighth among medium-sized airports in terms of passenger traffic, based on data from the Federal Aviation Administration for the calendar year 2021.