Vieques Airport is a small commercial air facility in the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Because a large amount of Vieques' yearly revenues come from the tourism industry, this small airport plays an important part in Vieques' economic outlook.
The airport has been for decades the hub of Vieques Air Link, and also a landing facility for a number of small airlines.
When anti-military demonstrators started flocking into Vieques, both by air and sea, in 1999, Vieques Airport saw a considerable increase to its normal yearly average of passengers. In addition, many celebrities who travelled from all over Puerto Rico and Latin America to join the protesters arrived at Vieques through this airport. When Carla Tricoli, a Vieques native, won the 2002Miss Puerto Rico contest, her first flight as a beauty queen landed at Vieques Airport.
The airport does not accept jet airplanes, but a couple of international flights operate from it. Most of the commercial aviation operations are concentrated on domestic flights such as Vieques to Fajardo, Vieques to Isla Grande Airport and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, both in San Juan. Air ambulance flights to Fajardo are also available.
Early in 2005, plans were announced to expand the airport's lone runway, so that the airport can accept flights by smaller jet's. This would be done in preparation for American Airlines to start operations to the airport, through their code sharing partner, American Eagle.
In 1999, a resident of Vieques asked (that is, petitioned) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to determine whether the Navy's operations on Vieques expose residents to unhealthy levels of environmental contaminants.
ATSDR concludes that the residents of Vieques are not being exposed to harmful levels of chemicals in the soil on Vieques.
Vieques soil is generally comparable to the soil across the United States, especially areas underlain by igneous or volcanic rocks.
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