Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport

Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport (IATA: VQS, FAA LID: VQS, ICAO: TJVQ) is located on the island of Puerto Rico. Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport is a public airport, and it serves Isla De Vieques, Puerto Rico. The owner of VQS airport is Puerto Rico Ports Authority.

Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport

Basic Information

Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport (IATA: VQS, FAA LID: VQS, ICAO: TJVQ) is located on the island of Puerto Rico. Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport is a public airport, and it serves Isla De Vieques, Puerto Rico. The owner of VQS airport is Puerto Rico Ports Authority.

Antonio Rivera Rodriguez airport serves both domestic and international flights.

Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport plays an essential role in the Vieques economy because a large amount of revenue comes from the tourism industry. The VQS airport has been a hub of Vieques Air Link for decades, and it is also a destination for numerous small airlines. The National Plan of Integrated Systems categorized VQS as a primary commercial service airport, with more than 10,000 passenger boarding per year.

Capacity

Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport covers 124 acres of the area, at an elevation of 49 feet above mean sea level. Rodriguez Rivera Airport has one runway with an asphalt surface, Runway 9/27, measuring 4,300 by 74 feet. The Roosevelt Roads tactical air navigation system (TACAN) is located three miles northwest of the VQS airport. The St. Thomas radio beacon (VOR-DME) is located 29 miles east-northwest of the VQS airport. The San Joan VORTAC is situated 33,9 miles west-northwest of the VQS airport.

Scheduled passenger service at VQS is provided by several airlines, including Air Flamenco, Air Sunshine, Cape Air, M&N Aviation, and Vieques Air Link.

History

In 1999 Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport saw a considerable increase to its normal yearly average of passengers when anti-military demonstrators started flocking into Vieques.

Plus, many celebrities who traveled from Latin America and all over Puerto Rico joined protesters who arrived at Vieques through Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport.

When a Vieques native, Carla Tricoli, won the Miss Puerto Rico contest in 2002, the first flight as a beauty queen landed at Vieques Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport.

Antonio Rodriguez Airport does not accept jet aircraft, but several international flights operate from VQS airport. Most of the VQS airport commercial aviation operations are domestic flights such as to Isla Grande Airport in San Juan, to Ceiba, and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Carolina. Air ambulance flights to San Juan are also available from Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport.