Lights on: Juan Santamaría International Airport now has 34 functioning lighting towers.

Photo courtesy of MOPT

Flights coming into Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela will no longer be left in the dark. Public works and aviation officials unveiled Tuesday evening the airport's long-awaited approach lights, a project that required an investment of more $2.6 million and seven months of work.

The airport has been without approach lights since 2004.

The arrival of the lights will alleviate visibility issues pilots have experienced for several years flying into Juan Santamaría airport. The overcast skies, clouds and fog of the Central Valley pose problems for pilots attempting to land, sometimes causing flights to re-route to Panama or Daniel Oduber International Airport, in the northwestern Costa Rican town of Liberia.

The landing difficulties caused by the lack of lighting prompted the intervention of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which deemed that the airport did not meet the standards of an international Category I airport. According to ICAO's Annex 14, which contains the necessary standards and practices for airports, the lack of lighting placed Juan Santamaría in Category II. The installation of the approach lights satisfies the international Category I requirements of ICAO.

The new lighting towers span 900 meters and are located west of the freeway that flanks the airport. There are 34 towers in all, each 30 meters apart. The lights, produced by the Siemens corporation, have five different levels of intensity and are adjusted according to weather conditions. According to t he Public Works and Transport Ministry, t he towers were also constructed to withstand harsh weather conditions and powerful gusts of wind.