Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport Isla Grande Airport Aeropuerto Isla Grande
West view of Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport fromSan Juan Bay, 2012 South view of Airport in-betweenSan Juan Cruise Port andPort of San Juan, 2015
IATA:SIG ICAO:TJIG FAALID:SIG
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Puerto Rico Ports Authority
Serves	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Location	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Elevation AMSL	10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates	18°27′24″N66°05′54″W / 18.45667°N 66.09833°W /18.45667; -66.09833
Map
FAA airport diagram
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 9/27 5,539 1,688 Asphalt
Source:FAA[1] GCM[2] Google Maps[3]

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (Spanish:Aeropuerto Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci) (IATA:SIG,ICAO:TJIG,FAALID:SIG), commonly known asIsla Grande Airport (Spanish:Aeropuerto de IslaGrande) is a smallairport inPuerto Rico serving the capitalmunicipality ofSan Juan and itsmetropolitan area since 1929.^[4] Named afterU.S. Air ForceMajorFernando Luis Ribas Dominicci, the 102acres (41 ha) airport is located onSan Juan Bay in theIsla Grande district ofSanturcebarrio in San Juan, about 2 to 6miles (3.2 to 9.7 km) from theOld San Juan historic quarter,Condado andIsla Verde resort areas,Hato Rey business center, andSJU main airport. It is situated in-between theSan Juan Cruise Port, and thePuerto Rico Convention Center and theDistrito T-Mobile entertainment center.

While its primary activity isgeneral aviation, Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport also handles small private international flights and commercial domestic flights, particularly between themain island and theSpanish Virgin Islands ofVieques andCulebra.^[5] It processed 35,871 total passengers in 2024.^[6]

Originally constructed by theU.S. Navy asNaval Air Station Isla Grande prior toWorld War II in 1929,^[6] the facility also served asPuerto Rico's main international airport until 1954, when Isla Verde International Airport (subsequently renamedLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport in 1985) was built. Until that year, all international airlines, such asDeutsche Luft Hansa,Iberia Airlines,Delta andPan Am, flew to Isla Grande.

Until 1971, the airport also hostedCoast Guard Air Station San Juan. That year, theCoast Guard relocated its air station toRamey Air Force Base on Puerto Rico's northwest coast.

Isla Grande was renamed in honor ofUnited States Air Force MajorFernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci, anF-111 pilot who was killed in action duringOperation El Dorado Canyon (the 1986 airstrike ofLibya).

A controversy regarding Isla Grande andDorado Airport surfaced in 2003. Dorado Airport wanted to expand and attract the private aviation sector that has been Isla Grande's main business for so long. Dorado airport eventually became a victim of urban development in Dorado and no longer exists.

In early 2003, it was announced that thePuerto Rico Grand Prix would be held on a 1.6 mile, 10-turn, temporary circuit on the airport's runway and taxiways as the season final of the 2003SCCATrans Am Series. The race, held on October 26, 2003, was won by Puerto Rican nativeWally Castro.^[5][7] The event was initially on the2004 Trans-Am Series schedule, but was cancelled a month before its running.^[8]

In 2006, after a detailed impact study and many rumors about the future of the airport, thePuerto Rico Ports Authority announced that Isla Grande airport would remain open for the foreseeable future, mostly because of its key function as the primary reliever for the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.^[9]

On August 4, 2011, the FAA announced that they were planning to close the airport's control tower due to budget cuts, since they operate it instead of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.^{[citation needed]}

On July 8, 2012, airport officials denied via written communication to a local newspaper of "any plans to eliminate or privatize the airport, since the airport is one of the most important airports for general aviation on Puerto Rico, taking into account that its operation approximates around 300 daily operations." On that same newspaper it was published thatSeaborne Airlines, a regional air carrier, would transition its scheduled passenger operations to the neighboring San JuanLuis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU) with complete pullout on January 16, 2013.^[10]

For a short period of time between 2007 and 2009, the airport became the flight hub of Puerto Rico's unofficial flag carrier,Prinair, when that airline briefly returned to operating.

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport covers an area of 102 acres (41 ha) at an elevation of 10 feet (3.0 m) abovemean sea level. It has one runway designated 9/27 with an asphalt surface measuring 5,539 by 100 feet (1,688 by 30 m).^[1]

For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2013, the airport had 116,447 aircraft operations, an average of 319 per day: 92%general aviation, 6%air taxi, and 2%military. At that time there were 232 aircraft based at this airport: 33% single-engine, 37% multi-engine, 1%jet, 24%helicopter, and 6%military.^[1]

The San Juan Army Aviation Support Facility operated by thePuerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) is the only military site on Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport. Its mission is to provide aviation maintenance support, and repair to thePuerto Rico Army National Guard and the following units:^[12]

• Company A, 1st Battalion,111th Aviation Regiment
• Company D, 1st Battalion,114th Aviation Regiment
• Detachment 1, Company B, 1st Battalion, 114th Aviation Regiment

The military aircraft at this facility areUH-72 Lakota andUH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and the BeechcraftC-12 Huron.

• On October 1, 1942, aDouglas C-39 (DC-2) of theU.S. Army Air Forces flying fromLosey Field in southern Puerto Rico to Isla Grande crashed into a hill inCoamo instead, killing all 22 people on board.^[13]
• On April 11, 1952,Pan Am Flight 526A crashed into the sea just after takeoff due to engine failure, killing 52 out of 69 passengers and crew.
• On December 21, 1991, aUnited AirlinesBoeing 757 flight en route to San Juan'sLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport mistakenly landed at Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport. The aircraft, which was on a chartered flight as United Airlines Flight 5850, was later flown, without any passengers onboard (as the passengers departed from Isla Grande to their hotels by bus), to Luis Munoz Marin Airport.^[14]
• June 7, 1992: AnExecutive Air (forAmerican Eagle)CASA 212 flying from Dominicci Airport crashed short of the runway inMayagüez, killing both crew members and all three passengers.^[15]
• In December 2002, a helicopter that had been rented from a company that operates out of this airport was hijacked and taken to a jail inPonce, where six inmates boarded the helicopter, forcing the pilot to drop them off at a farm. The pilot was able to fly back after he lied to the prisoners about their whereabouts, making them jump off the helicopter and zig-zagging the helicopter to prevent them from shooting at him. Soon after, all escapees were found by the police.
• On January 10, 2015, aRobinson R22 collided with the ocean (nearCataño Ferry terminal, San Juan bay) shortly after takeoff due to disorientation and failure to maintain rotor rpm,^[16] killing 1 (student performing a solo flight) and leaving the helicopter damaged beyond repair.
• On July 4, 2017, an aircraft that had taken off Ribas Dominicci Airport crashed nearby at a bay. The crash resulted in four injuries.^[17]

• Transport in Puerto Rico
• List of airports in Puerto Rico
• Aviation in Puerto Rico

• Isla Grande Airport atOpenStreetMap
• Aeronautical chart andairport information for Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport at SkyVector
• Isla Grande Flying School
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective October 30, 2025
• FAA Terminal Procedures for SIG, effective October 30, 2025
• Accident Robinson R22 Beta N348VH, 10 Jan 2015
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAAairport information for SIG
  • AirNavairport information for TJIG
  • ASNaccident history for SIG
  • FlightAwareairport information andlive flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWSlatest weather observations for TJIG
  • SkyVectoraeronautical chart for SIG

• Buildings and structures in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Airports in Puerto Rico
• Miramar (Santurce)
• Closed installations of the United States Navy

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Webarchive template wayback links
• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from September 2015
• Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from June 2012