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Published on Monday, September 14, 2026
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Travelers checking
in for flights at Juan Santamaría
International Airport (SJO) in Alajuela
Province faced delays of approximately
five hours after an internet service
outage disrupted airport operations,
according to the Ministry of Public
Works and Transportation (MOPT).
Authorities said
the accident occurred Saturday at
approximately 4:30 p.m. when, for
reasons still under investigation, a
container truck crashed into a pole
supporting fiber-optic cables near the
main entrance to the airport access
ramp.
The impact caused
the truck to pull the cables from the
pole and drag them several meters,
immediately disrupting the internet
service required for the airport’s
flight check-in and passenger processing
systems.
The General
Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC)
coordinated the installation of a new
fiber-optic cable network, with crews
from the Electricity Institute (ICE)
carrying out the work.
While internet service was down at the airport, airline employees had to process and check in travelers manually. This caused delays in passenger service while crews worked to repair the damage.
Authorities
said the main delays during the
incident occurred at the check-in
counters of some airlines because
telecommunications services contracted
directly by
those airlines for passenger service
and processing were affected. The
internet outage also affected the
screens used by air traffic
controllers, authorities added. Telecommunications
services at the airport were suspended
for nearly five hours and were fully
restored at approximately 9 p.m.
Tourism remains one of Costa
Rica’s most important economic
sectors. More than 1.6 million
travelers arrived in the country by air during the
first half of 2026, underscoring the industry’s
continued role as a major
contributor to the national economy. In 2025, Costa Rica
welcomed more than 2.6 million
air travelers. MOPT oversees Costa Rica’s road,
port and airport infrastructure, as
well as the country’s national
public transportation policy. The DGAC is the technical and administrative
authority within MOPT. The agency is responsible for planning, regulating and supervising civil aviation activities in the
country and works to ensure operational safety,
efficiency and compliance with international
aviation standards across Costa
Rica’s airports and airspace. ICE is the state-owned agency
responsible for managing the
country’s electricity and
telecommunications systems.
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