Rafael Hernández Airport
Passenger Terminal
IATA: BQN – ICAO: TJBQ – FAA LID: BQN
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Puerto Rico Ports Authority
Serves		Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Location		Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Elevation AMSL		237 ft / 72 m
Coordinates		18°29′42″N 67°7′46″W / 18.495°N 67.12944°W / 18.495; -67.12944Coordinates: 18°29′42″N 67°7′46″W / 18.495°N 67.12944°W / 18.495; -67.12944
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
8/26	11,702	3,567	Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft Operations			71,540
Passenger Movement			461,506 (2009)
Based aircraft			106
Source: Federal Aviation Administration Source: Puerto Rico Ports Authority

Rafael Hernández Airport (IATA: BQN, ICAO: TJBQ, FAA LID: BQN) is a fast-growing airport located in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. It is named after the Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández Marín. The airport is the second international airport in Puerto Rico in the region of Porta del Sol, Puerto Rico's west coast.

Rafael Hernandez Airport mainly serves Puerto Rican westerners living in the Eastern Region of the United States. The airport serves as focus city to PAWA Dominicana.

In the past, the airport has been served by major carriers like Capitol Air, Pan Am, Kiwi Airlines, TWA, American Airlines, Delta Connection, to mention a few. Mostly due to little planning, research or advertising, some of these services have been suspended. Other services have been discontinued as part of the airlines restructuring plan, or as a result of airlines going out of business.

History

The airport has been long associated with the adjacent military base, Ramey Air Force Base. It used to receive domestic commercial flights by Prinair as well as service from JFK International Airport in New York City with Capitol Air [1], and 707 passenger flights from Miami with Southeast Airlines [2]. It is also noted for being the place that large clothing company Wrangler uses to land their planes filled with company-related cargo.

In 1988, Rafael Hernández Airport started to surface as an alternative to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, when Carnival Air Lines and ATA began jet services there. In the 1990s, American Airlines joined those two airlines. Later on, Pan Am (2) and TWA also came.

In the early 1990s Carnival Air Lines operated the first intra-Puerto Rican jet service from the airport to Ponce, with Boeing 727s and Airbus A300s.

Prinair suffered various accidents and ceased operations.

In 2000, North American Airlines re-opened passenger service with a non-stop flight to New York-JFK three times a week. Later on Continental Airlines joined North American with a daily flight to their hub in Newark. The evident success of service from the Aguadilla, caught the attention of Boston-Maine Airways that opened a route to Orlando-Sanford and Santo Domingo.

In 2004, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority announced that it would be remodelling and expanding BQN to accommodate more flights and passengers. An expansion of the terminal building and a new parking lot were among the projects in mind. The expansion was inaugurated on July 12, 2005.

In 2005, continuous passenger traffic growth caught the attention of Jet Blue Airways, which opened a daily flight to their hub in New York. Soon after the arrival of Jet Blue to the airport, North American ceased operations at the airport. Soon after, Jet Blue announced that it will be adding a second daily flight to New York-JFK.

In December 2006, thousands of people gathered at the airport to welcome Carlos "El Indio" Quintana.

In 2006, Delta Connection began regional jet service to Atlanta, Georgia five times a week. The service ended on January 20, 2007 as part of Delta's restructuring plan. Later on 2007 JetBlue Airways began service to Orlando.

In the summer of 2007 Spirit Airlines announced plans to begin service from the airport to their hub in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with a flight five times a week during the summer. The success of the service resulted in Spirit offering 2 daily flights. Service frequency was lowered to a flight 5 times a week instead of the expected end of service at the end of the summer.

On July 5, 2007, the newly renovated control tower directed its first aircraft.

During the low season of 2007 there were 59 flights per week, 1 daily flight to New York, 1 to Newark and Orlando and a flight 5 times per week to Ft. Lauderdale.

Due to the success of service, Spirit Airlines has increased their frequency to daily to/from Ft. Lauderdale. In addition, Spirit added a daily non-stop service to Orlando on February. JetBlue will also continue to have two daily flights to New York-JFK after the Holiday Season. Also, starting May 1, JetBlue will be adding a second daily flight to/from Orlando.

On June 2, 2008, Pan Am World Airways Dominicana restored service between the Airport and Santo Domingo-Las Americas as well as to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. These are two of the routes that is evidently under-served due to high demand and proximity of Aguadilla to the neighboring island. On May 24, 2008, local leaders gathered at the airport to meet Democratic presidential candidate Hillary R. Clinton.

The capacity of the airport and its role as the main gateway to Porta del Sol, the airport is considered extremely undeserved, something that has caused indignation in the region, which accounts for one third of the Puerto Rico's total population, and the mayor of the city on a number of occasions to ask for the airport to be transferred to the city.

Statistics

This table shows the continuous growth of passenger traffic at the airport since 2001, but affected in 2009 by the lack of new flights:

For year 2007 the airport transported 400,473 passengers, nearly a 500% increase in five years. With only 84 flights per week during the high seasons (Summer & Winter) and 59 flights per week the rest of the year, Hernandez Airport has an Average Load Factor of 80%.

Recent News

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is studying expansion for the 3 main airports in Puerto Rico for 2011. Plans are underway to add service to Boston, Ft. Lauderdale, and Tampa from the airport.

Seaborne Airlines

Seaborne Airlines studies Aguadilla-San Juan service. Service will be from Aguadilla to San Juan Isla Grande Airport.

FedEx Plans Distribution Hub

FedEx plans to expand its existing operations at the airport to make it its Caribbean distribution hub.

Act 67

Act 67 of May 22, 2008 establishes incentives for charter airlines offering service to the airport. It guarantees profit of up to 10%, 50% discount on landing fees, and matching dollar per dollar base on volume proyections/available seats.

To benefit from the act Charter Airlines must carry 75% of the passengers on board with a 3+ nights reservation in a hotel in the region of 130 or less rooms.

Ahrens Airborne

Ahrens Aircraft due to set up operations at Punta Borinquen in Aguadilla to manufacture an aircraft known as the AR 404, was promised money by the Puerto Rican government to develop the airliner, but an investigation by the United States government prevented the money from getting to the company, and the project was called off with only two AR 404 airplanes built at Rafael Hernandez Airport [3].

NASA Aviation Safety Program

Hernandez Airport will host the initial flights of the recently modified S-3 Viking. The Viking was modified to become state-of-the-art icing research aircraft. This flights will seek to characterize the icing conditions that exist in the tropical convective layer of the atmosphere.

Facilities

Rafael Hernández Airport covers an area of 1,600 acres (647 ha) which hosts the longest runway in the Eastern Caribbean.

Runway

• Runway 08/26: 11,702 x 200 ft (3,567 x 61 m), Surface: Asphalt
  • With Blast Pads and Shoulders: 13,440 X 300 ft (4,097 X 91 m)

At the beginning of the airport, the runway was built in 1940 as part of the Borinquen Field Army Air Corps Base. In 1948 The base was renamed Ramey Air Force Base complex. Ramey was home to the Strategic Air Command and housed a number of B-36, B-47 and B-52s. Due to the size of the B-36 the runway at Ramey had to be built to a length of 11,702 ft and a width of 200 ft, added a 870 ft Blast Pad at each end and a 50 ft shoulder on each side.

North Side

The North side of the airport constitutes a passenger terminal with an international side capable of handling flights of over 200 passengers. It also hosts the Main Cargo Terminal, the FedEx Terminal, and the General Aviation Terminal. The North side also houses the Copeca Jet Center Executive Terminal, as well as five service hangars. The military side of the airport is also located on the North side, housing the Air Station Borinquen, a United States Coast Guard facility.

South Side

The South side of the airport is the largest portion of the airport, but is currently undeveloped. Since the airport was transferred to Puerto Rico Port Authority in 1973, the South side has been object of disputes and political campaign. Since then promises have been abundant, yet more than three decades later, the South side is still undeveloped. Under the administration of Sila M. Calderón and Aníbal Acevedo Vilá a master plan was conceived to turn the South side into a cargo hub for the Caribbean. Local residents object to the use of the South side for Cargo rather than a modern passenger terminal.

Passenger Terminal The passenger terminal was recently upgraded to include air conditioning, more space for modern airline ticket counters and car rental counters. It constitutes two "gates" gate 14 and 15. Gate 14 is use for departures, while Gate 15 is use for arrivals. The terminal is divided into two sections, the domestic and the international sides. The domestic side is equipped with a United States Department of Agriculture facility, while the international side constitutes a United States Customs capable of handling up to 200 passengers.

Future Expansion

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a master plan to redevelop the Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla that will involve an investment of $1 billion over the next 20 years. PRPA plans call for the redevelopment of the Aguadilla airport on a scale that will rival LMM. The Aguadilla airport currently has two commercial passenger gates. The master plan calls for a total of 30 commercial passenger gates, 12 shy of the 42 commercial passenger gates that currently exist at LMM.

There are plans to expand the road that give access to the airport.

Martinair is expanding its air-cargo operations to Aguadilla Airport. The expansion to Aguadilla will facilitate more flights (up to 12 a week by 2010) to and from the island and serve as a value-added cold-chain hub for the transport of flowers and produce from South America for consumption in Puerto Rico, the mainland U.S., Europe and other parts of the world.

There are official plans to renovate the runway enroute to house FedEx expansion.

Passenger Airlines and Destinations

In the past American Airlines offered service to their hub in Miami from Rafael Hernandez Airport. Miami, as well as other popular routes, currently lacks service from the airport. These markets include but are not limited to Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford, and Baltimore. These cities are home to some of the largest Puerto Rican communities in the United States, many of whom have ties to Aguadilla and the surrounding region.

In 2009 a United States Customs facility capable of handling 200 passengers was inaugurated at Rafael Hernandez Airport.

Cargo Airlines

The cargo section of the airport is divided in two sections, the Main Terminal and the FedEx Terminal. The FedEx Terminal is home to FedEx and its local affiliates. Talks are currently going for FedEx to increase their operations at Rafael Hernandez Airport and turn Aguadilla in a hub and distribution center for the Caribbean. The remaining Cargo Carriers are located in the Main Terminal.

Road Access

The airport can be accessed via two highways from PR-2 .

• Arecibo and Points East including Isabela and Camuy are connected to the airport via SR-110.

• Mayagüez and Points south including downtown Aguadilla, Rincon, and Cabo Rojo are connected to the airport via SR-107.

Accidents and incidents

• On 26 April 1991, Douglas DC-3C N136FS of Four Star Air Cargo was destroyed when a fire broke out in the cockpit whilst the aircraft was taxiing for take-off on a mail flight to Cyril E. King Airport, Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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