Rafael Hernández Airport

Rafael Hernández Airport (, ), also referred to as Rafael Hernández International Airport (), is an airport located in the municipality of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Named after the composer Rafael Hernández Marín, it is the second-busiest airport of Puerto Rico in terms of passenger traffic after Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. It is also home to Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations. Set to be modernized, the long runway of the airport is the longest in the Caribbean.

In the past, the airport has been served by passenger air carriers operating scheduled jet service, including American Airlines, Arrow Air, Capitol Air, Continental Airlines, Kiwi International Airlines, Pan Am (II and III),Trans World Airlines (TWA), Southeast Airlines, Aeronaves de Puerto Rico, and Delta Connection, and also by Etihad Crystal Cargo and Turkish Airlines Cargo on the cargo airline side. Taesa flew in 1996 from Mexico City International Airport in Mexico City.

In 1985, Arrow Air operated domestic McDonnell Douglas DC-10 wide-body jet service on a once-a-week basis to Aguadilla from San Juan, and nonstop flights six days a week from New York JFK. Pan Am III flew jets between Aguadilla and San Juan in the early 2000s. Currently, although the airport lacks non-stop flights to Asia, it is the only airport in Puerto Rico served by an Asian commercial airline, in this case by Emirates Sky Cargo.

History

In 1939, the Army sent Major George C. Kenney to Puerto Rico to conduct a preliminary survey of possible air base sites on Puerto Rico. He examined 42 sites and declared that Punta Borinquen the best site for a major air base. In September 1939, the government purchased of sugar cane farms for military use, for $1,215,000. Later that year, Major Karl S. Axtater assumed command of what was to become Borinquen Army Air Field.

With the establishment of an independent United States Air Force in 1947, the complex was renamed Ramey Air Force Base in 1948. Ramey AFB was home to a Strategic Air Command bombardment wing and housed a number of B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental bombers. The B-36s were later replaced by B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers and KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft.

A tenant weather reconnaissance squadron operated WB-47 Stratojet and WC-130 Hercules aircraft. Due to the size and weight of the B-36, the runway at Ramey had to be built to a length of and a width of , added an Blast Pad at each end and a shoulder on each side.

In 1971, the closure of what became Ramey Air Force Base began and lasted until 1973. Following its closure, it was converted into a civilian airport. It used to receive domestic commercial flights by Prinair and Vieques Air Link as well as service from New York JFK with Capitol Air, and Boeing 720 passenger flights from Miami operated by Southeast Airlines. It is also noted for being the place that the large clothing company, Wrangler Jeans, used to land their planes filled with company-related cargo as part of their airline operation, Wrangler Aviation, which was later renamed to Sky Lease Cargo.

In the mid and late 1970s, the Ahrens Aircraft Corporation attempted to set up operations at former USAF industrial facilities at the airport in order to manufacture the Ahrens AR 404 regional airliner, a short takeoff and landing (STOL) turboprop aircraft, with financial incentives promised by the Puerto Rican government for development. A government investigation over these incentives ensued and the project was cancelled after only two AR 404s were built at Rafael Hernández Airport.

In 2004, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority announced that it would be remodeling and expanding BQN to accommodate more flights and passengers. An expansion of the terminal building and a new parking lot were opened in July 2005.

Since the closure of Ramey AFB in 1974, the airport's control tower had remained standing, but was non-operational, limiting the airport to UNICOM communication as an uncontrolled airport. Following refurbishment of the former USAF control tower in 2006 and 2007, the newly renovated control tower became operational in July 2007.

In February 2012, the mayor of Aguadilla and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce designated the airport a "free trade zone" (FTZ), as are many other airports in the U.S., to improve the development of the airport and surrounding areas.

In April 2014, Lufthansa Technik announced the creation of a maintenance, repair and overhaul center (MRO) at the airport. This created operations for maintenance of Lufthansa Aircraft flying on the Americas, starting with 2 reconditioning lines by C and D checks for the Airbus A320, with plans to expand up to 5 reconditioning lines.

Passenger service

In 1988, Carnival Airlines and ATA began passenger jet service. In the 1990s, American Airlines, joined those two airlines, followed by Pan Am II and TWA. Carnival Airlines operated Airbus A300 wide-body jet service to New York JFK, Neward and Fort Lauderdale. In the early 1990s, Carnival Airlines operated the first intra-Puerto Rican jet service from the airport to Ponce with Boeing 727s as well as with wide body Airbus A300s.

Another carrier, Prinair previously conducted operations at Rafael Hernández Airport. North Cay Airways provided passenger air service from San Juan at some time during the airport's history. In 1995, American Airlines was operating daily nonstop Boeing 757-200 jet service to New York JFK airport. Carnival Airlines flew nonstop to JFK at this same, with Boeing 727-200 jet service three days a week.

In 2000, North American Airlines had reopened passenger service with a non-stop flight to New York JFK three times a week. Later, Continental Airlines joined North American with a daily flight to their hub in Newark. Continental has since merged with United Airlines, and the latter airline has continued to provide service. Boston-Maine Airways operating as Pan Am began jet service to Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida and to Santo Domingo.

In 2005, JetBlue began a daily flight to their hub at New York JFK. Soon after the arrival of JetBlue, North American ceased operations. As a result, JetBlue announced that it would add a second daily flight to New York JFK.

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

In the summer of 2007, Spirit Airlines announced plans to begin service from the airport to their hub in Fort Lauderdale, with a flight five times a week during the summer. It then reduced its service frequency to a flight two times a week.

In 2007, there were 59 flights per week including one daily flight to New York City, one to Newark and Orlando, and a flight operated five times per week to Fort Lauderdale.

Spirit increased their flight frequency to daily to and from Fort Lauderdale. In addition, Spirit added a daily non-stop service to Orlando in February 2008. JetBlue continued to have two daily flights to New York City after the holiday season, adding a second daily flight to and from Orlando on May 1, 2008. 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.

In May 2022, Frontier Airlines launched service for the first time to and from Orlando International Airport. The new service operates three to four times weekly and marks the airline's 13th route serving Puerto Rico from destinations in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Spirit eventually stopped all flights from Aguadilla in 2023.

Facilities

Rafael Hernández Airport covers an area of 1600 acres (647 ha). BQN has one runway, 8/26: 11,702 ft x 200 ft (3,567 m x 61 m) Asphalt/Concrete.

North Side

The north side of the airport consists of 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, and five service hangars.

The military side of the airport is also located on the north side, housing Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, a United States Coast Guard facility, as well as the 141st Air Control Squadron (which operates at the Punta Borinquen Radar Station), a non-flying unit of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. Many Federal law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the US Border Patrol Ramey Sector in Map and the CBP Air and Marine Operations Operating Locations Southeast Region Caribbean Air and Marine Branch based their operations on this side of the airport.

thumb|A Rafael Hernandez Airport Aircraft Rescue Firefighting truck in 2009

The closure of what became Ramey Air Force Base began in 1971 and lasted until 1973. Following its closure, it was converted into a civilian airport. It used to receive domestic commercial flights by Prinair and Vieques Air Link

There are also plans to expand the airport access road.

There are plans to renovate the runway to coincide with FedEx's expansion. There are plans to add a second runaway to the airport.

In June 2021, an expansion plan was announced by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and paid by the FAA. The expansion plan includes building a new runway to replace the current one completed by 2027 as the current runway has only five years left of service, having been built in the 1930s for World War II.

Aside from the new runway, a new passenger terminal and three new cargo warehouses are planned to be built. The Puerto Rico Ports Authority seeks to bring back airlines with the new expansion. There are also plans to renovate the airport's facilities including bathrooms, relocating stores, adding jet bridges and more.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

As of September 2025, the following cargo airlines which operate at the airport:

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. In 2007, the airport transported 400,473 passengers, nearly a 500% increase in five years. Rafael Hernández Airport has an average of 47 regular passengers flights per week.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Passenger statistics for BQN

! Year !! Passengers !! % Change !! Year !! Passengers !! % Change !! Year !! Passengers !! % Change

! 2001

| 75,754 || –

! 2010

| 490,103 || 6.2%

! 2019

| 753,996 || 23.9%

! 2002

| 80,018 || 5.6%

! 2011

| 471,226 || 3.9%

! 2020

| 149,162 || 80.2%

! 2003

| 132,668 || 65.8%

! 2012

| 432,651 || 8.2%

! 2021

| 461,227 || 209.2%

! 2004

| 230,976 || 74.1%

! 2013

| 407,664 || 5.8%

! 2022

| 699,525 || 51.7%

! 2005

| 253,730 || 9.9%

! 2014

| 428,413 || 5.1%

! 2023

| 869,942 || 24.4%

! 2006

| 356,145 || 40.4%

! 2015

| 412,565 || 3.7%

! 2024

| 738,766 || 15.1%

! 2007

| 400,473 || 12.4%

! 2016

| 519,603 || 25.9%

! 2025

| 686,057 || 7.1%

! 2008

| 492,180 || 22.9%

! 2017

| 498,424 || 4.1%

! 2026

| ||

! 2009

| 461,506 || 6.2%

! 2018

| 608,352 || 22.1%

! 2027

| ||