San Juan - The Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport in Isla Grande is old enough to have received flights from legendary aviators such as Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. Since its founding almost 100 years ago, the area surrounding it has grown vertically and horizontally to include high-rise residential buildings, the Puerto Rico Convention Center and its accompanying District development, and several hotels. The airport itself has evolved from a military installation into the island’s first international airport and, today, a growing hub for private aviation operations.

The airport, which operates under the supervision of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA), is home to an FAA-operated control tower, a Customs and Border Protection facility, commercial flight operations transporting passengers and cargo to other regional airports, including Vieques and Culebra, flight schools (including the Inter American University of Puerto Rico), and fixed-base operator (FBO) Modern Aviation, which receives some 1,000 private flights a year.

Within a year, the airport could look substantially different, thanks to a series of investments aimed at transforming it into a gateway for private aviation in the Caribbean, according to PRPA Executive Director Norberto Negrón Díaz.

First on the list of upgrades is a $25.6 million federally funded project to improve the runway, upgrade its classification from B2 to C3, and increase its capacity to accommodate larger aircraft.

Negrón Díaz explained that the project will not alter the runway’s current width or length, but it will undergo a complete reconstruction that includes raising the crown and adding drainage on both sides. Work is already underway, with administrative and surveying phases beginning last September, and the project is expected to be completed by mid-2027. During the demolition phase, projected to begin on April 30, 2027, the runway will be closed for five months, forcing concessionaires operating out of Isla Grande to suspend operations or temporarily relocate elsewhere.

“The project has been under discussion with all the concessionaires for over a year, and a consensus was reached to do one continuous but shorter phase, to shorten the closure period,” said José Román, PRPA’s director of Aviation. “Other work will be carried out simultaneously that doesn’t require a complete runway closure. That work has already begun. There is some work that will start to be visible until the moment comes to demolish the runway, when there is no option but to close it. When that work is complete, it will reopen, but the closure is the shortest it could be.”

Future investments also include a new covered parking facility with solar rooftops, which should improve the airport’s parking infrastructure and facilitate better traffic flow when entering and exiting the airport. The project is also slated to relocate and improve Air Rescue facilities, a critical operation at Isla Grande, which frequently serves as an emergency staging facility, as well as improvements to the commercial passenger terminal, like upgraded and modernized counters.

These improvements add to other recent upgrades and safety enhancements to the airport’s facilities, including the installation of safety buoys that delineate the perimeter and keep vessels from entering. The buoys protect the airport’s approach zone by preventing boats from becoming an obstruction to aircraft operations.

The plan, Negrón Díaz said, is in line with the current government administration’s vision and policies. “As an administration, we recognize that this area could become like a new Miami. The Governor has been clear with me that she wants people, when they arrive, to take away the impression of ‘wow, how spectacular.’”

The Ports Authority envisions Isla Grande as part of a broader network of regional airports that would facilitate connections among destinations across Puerto Rico, including Vieques, Culebra and Mayagüez.

The strategy builds on recent improvements, such as the inauguration of Culebra’s new runway and the planned modernization of Vieques’ airport, which will include upgraded passenger seating and counters, pavement improvements and renovations to the concession area. PRPA is also exploring the possibility of expanding Vieques’ airport with the support of a Federal Aviation Administration grant, beginning with a feasibility study.

Back at Ribas Dominicci, Modern Aviation, which operates the only current FBO at the airport, provides services to private aircraft arriving in San Juan. The operation offers 24/7 service and ground support for private aviation clients, which include everyone from corporate executives to celebrities, according to Negrón Díaz.

It will soon be joined by another FBO in development, a private investment by Pompina Investments, which has committed an initial $8 million to develop its hangar and facilities.

Carlos López-Lay, CEO of Bella Group, is listed as the corporation’s administrator in the State Department’s Corporations Registry.

Negrón Díaz said the project had been stalled since the company signed an agreement with the PRPA in 2022 because old underground fuel tanks on the lot had to be removed. Their removal was recently completed, and the project has broken ground. It is expected to be completed in the summer of 2027, with additional investments planned for parking and other amenities.

North of the runway, a company called Aerotécnica has signed a development contract with the PRPA and is currently in the design and permitting phase of what could become Isla Grande’s third FBO.

During a tour of the airport, Negrón Díaz, a Navy veteran, pointed out Jeff Bezos’s mega yacht, Koru, docked across the water at Pier 9, presumably undergoing maintenance at the Safe Harbor facility located there. “That’s Jeff Bezos’s yacht, and that’s the kind of businessman who uses this airport. That’s why it’s the best; it’s the gateway to the Caribbean, and businesspeople of that caliber arrive here,” he said.