On Friday, a very unique event occurred on the runway of the Juan Santamaría Airport (SJO), where five four-engined airplanes converged at the same time.
One was the Air India Boeing 747-300 carrying the Vice-President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, in the country to meet with President Carlos Alvarado and discuss issues of science and technology, renewable energy, biotechnology, among others.
The other the US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III large military transport aircraft delivering four donated helicopters to the Air Surveillance Service (SVA).
Both the foregoing are aircraft not customarily seen in Costa Rica. If memory recalls, the last time a 747 was on the tarmac at the San Jose airport it was Air Force One for the Barack Obama visit.
The other two ‘four-engined’ planes were the Iberia and Edelweiss Airbus A340 that regularly provide service to and from Costa Rica.
This is a rare and unusual event. Airport sources confirmed to the Q that something similar has not happened in many years.
