Costa Rica reopens airspace after radar outage forces nationwide shutdown

Costa Rica reopened its airspace on Wednesday after a power outage forced a nationwide closure for at least five hours, disrupting flights across the country.

The outage, which hit radar systems early on Wednesday, brought all air traffic to a halt and affected both domestic and international travel, Deputy Civil Aviation Director Luis Diego Saborio told Reuters.

International airports Juan Santamaria, outside the capital San Jose, and Daniel Oduber Quiros, in the province of Guanacaste, were impacted, the transport ministry said.


Costa Rica, a tourism-reliant country, often serves as a regional hub for flights connecting to other parts of Latin America.

At least 44 flights at Juan Santamaria were affected, airport operator Aeris said.

Both international airports later confirmed on social media that operations had resumed after the radar system was restored.

Transportation Minister Efraim Zeledon said in a statement that an investigation would be launched to prevent similar incidents in the future.