Viru Viru International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Viru Viru International Airport
nativename =
nativename-a =
nativename-r =


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IATA = VVI
ICAO = SLVR
type = Public
owner =
operator = abertis airports (Abertis)
city-served =
location = Santa Cruz de la Sierra
elevation-f = 1,225
elevation-m = 373
coordinates = Coord|17|38|41|S|63|08|07|W|type:airport_region:BO
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 16/34
r1-length-f = 11,483
r1-length-m = 3,500
r1-surface = Concrete
stat-year =
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Viru Viru International Airport Airport codes|VVI|SLVR is an aviation facility located in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

The idea to have an airport in Santa Cruz was conceived in 1976. Soon after, construction of the airport began. "Viru Viru" filled a hole in the Bolivian aviation industry: With Santa Cruz being the second largest city in the South American country, "Viru Viru" became an important link between La Paz and the rest of the country. Because La Paz is a high altitude city, it can be difficult to reach by car from other Bolivian cities, and many travelers choose to fly from "Viru Viru" instead. "Viru Viru" is the largest international airport in Bolivia.

"Viru Viru" is able to handle the largest commercial jets. Most arriving flights are either domestic flights, flights from neighboring South American countries, North American flights and some European flights.

In 2005, the airport served 985,794 passengers.

Operators

On March 1, 1997 the Government of Bolivia Peruentered into a 25year contract with Airport Group International to operate thethree largest airports in Bolivia – El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Jorge Wilstermann International Airport in Cochabamba and Viru Viru InternationalAirport. Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos Sociedad Anonima (SABSA)was created to operate the concession. In 1999 Airport Group International was purchased by TBI plc and, in 2004, Spain's Abertis/AENA purchased TBI.

Incidents

On March 8, 2006, an Argentine airforce Learjet 35 flying from El Alto International Airport in La Paz to Viru Viru crashed after take off, killing all six people onboard.

October 2007 Dispute

During the week of Oct. 14, 2007, some local residents protesting the federal government made an armed attempt to prevent some international flights from leaving unless they made cash payments as "landing fees" to local officials. Governor of Santa Cruz Ruben Costas was quoted as saying the national air traffic control agency’s “corruption levels are just unsustainable". The Bolivian military seized the airport on Oct. 18. Javier Garcia, the head of civil aviation, said the airport will remain under federal control until it is clear there will be no more disturbances. [ [http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-10-18-voa60.cfm Bolivian Authorities Seize Santa Cruz Airport ] ]

Airlines and destinations

*Aerolíneas Argentinas (Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Caracas)
*Aerocon (La Paz, Cochabamba, Trinidad, Tarija)
*Aerosur (Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cobija, Cusco, La Paz, Lima, Madrid, Miami, Puerto Suárez, Salta, Cochabamba, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Sucre, Tarija, Trinidad, Tucumán)
*Amaszonas (Trinidad, Cochabamba, La Paz)
*American Airlines (Miami)
*Copa Airlines (Panama City) [begins December 15]
*Gol Transportes Aéreos (Campo Grande)
*LAN Airlines (Iquique, Santiago de Chile)
**LAN Perú (Lima)
*TAM Airlines (Asunción)
*TACA
**TACA Peru (Lima)
*TAM - Transporte Aéreo Militar (Trinidad, Puerto Suárez, Cochabamba, La Paz, Sucre, Tarija)

External links

*Homepage of the Viru Viru International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional Viru Viru): [http://www.sabsa.aero/aeropuertointernacionalviruviru www.sabsa.aero/aeropuertointernacionalviruviru] (Sabsa = Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos S.A. is the operator of three airports in Bolivia).
*

References