San Juan's FBOs Rising To Meet the Challenges

A week after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, most of the island remains without power, yet FBOs there are in operation for relief and private flights. At Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, Jet Aviation San Juan came through the storm virtually unscathed and has returned to full operations.

“Our FBO has power and water and can be reached by normal access roads,” noted John Langevin, the company’s vice president for North American FBO operations, adding that due to continuing telecommunications disruptions, the facility is communicating with customers through email and cellphone service. “We’re providing full service including fueling, ground handling and aircraft service and parking on our ramp.” According to Langevin, the FBO has taken the lead in coordinating arriving relief flights to the airport.

Efforts to contact Airport Aviation Services, the other FBO at SJU, were unsuccessful.

At general aviation-only Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, Million Air reports that while it has enough aviation fuel to support the high tempo of operations it is receiving, that hectic pace has at times required some patience from customers. It has bolstered its staff with employees from the chain’s mainland locations, including company CEO Roger Woolsey, and is coordinating with federal and local authorities to assist in the delivery of desperately needed supplies.

While Signature Flight Support reported that its facility there suffered significant damage in the wake of Maria, it is operating from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily, due to power outages at the airport, with customs available from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and it has rerouted customer calls to its main number at the facility through an off-island call center.