Viru Viru International Airport (IATA: VVI, ICAO: SLVR) is an aviation facility located in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
The idea to build a new, modern airport in Santa Cruz was conceived in 1976, in view of the obsolence of the old airport known as El Trompillo. Soon after, construction of the airport began. Upon its inauguration, Viru Viru became the most important airport in Bolivia and its main gateway of international flights, despite Santa Cruz being only the second largest metropolitan area in Bolivia. Because La Paz is located at a high altitude, it can be difficult to reach by car from other Bolivian cities, and many travelers choose to fly from Viru Viru instead. Viru Viru is now the largest international airport in Bolivia.
Viru Viru is able to handle the largest commercial jets. Most arriving flights are either domestic flights, flights from neighboring South American countries, North American flights and some European flights. Viru Viru is also a hub for Bolivia's biggest airlines AeroSur, and Boliviana de Aviación. Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano used Viru Viru as a hub before ceasing operations in 2009.
Read more about Viru Viru International Airport: Operators, Airlines and Destinations, Cargo Operations, Incidents
Famous quotes containing the word airport:
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)