AirportsJuan Santamaría International Airport is a large airport serving San José (Alajuela), in Alajuela Province, Costa Rica. It has scheduled airline flights. Its IATA code, the three letters printed on tickets and baggage tags, is SJO.
Key facts
- IATA code
- SJO
- ICAO code
- MROC
- City
- San José (Alajuela)
- State or region
- Alajuela Province
- Country
- Costa Rica
- Kind
- Large airport
- Coordinates
- 9.9939° N, 84.2088° W
- Elevation
- 921 m (3,021 ft)
- Runways
- 1
- Longest runway
- 3,012 m (9,882 ft)
Airport codes
On a ticket or a baggage tag, SJO means Juan Santamaría International Airport. Pilots and air traffic controllers use a different, four-letter ICAO code: MROC. ICAO codes that begin with M belong to Mexico and Central America. How the two kinds of code differ.
Where it is
The airport lies at 9.9939° N, 84.2088° W. It stands 921 metres (3,021 feet) above sea level.
Local time
Time now at the airport: loading
Time zone America/Costa Rica, taken from the nearest town in the data. Flight times on tickets are always in the local time of each airport.
Runways
Juan Santamaría International Airport has 1 runway in the data. The longest is 3,012 metres (9,882 feet). That is long enough for most passenger jets. Among the 9 airports of Costa Rica on this site with runway data, its longest runway ranks number 1.
| Runway | Length | Width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/25 | 3,012 m 9,882 ft | 46 m | Asphalt | Yes |
The numbers in a runway name give its compass direction. How runway numbers work.
Nearest airports with scheduled flights
| Airport | Code | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tobías Bolaños International AirportSan Jose | SYQ | 9 km |
| Quepos Managua AirportQuepos | XQP | 62 km |
| La Fortuna Arenal AirportLa Fortuna | FON | 67 km |
| Limón International AirportLimón | LIO | 130 km |
| Nosara AirportNicoya | NOB | 158 km |
Distance to major airports
| To | Distance | Rough flying time |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi (DEL)India | 15,281 km | 18 h 55 min |
| Mumbai (BOM)India | 15,920 km | 19 h 40 min |
| Dubai (DXB)United Arab Emirates | 14,140 km | 17 h 30 min |
| London Heathrow (LHR)United Kingdom | 8,708 km | 11 h 00 min |
| New York JFK (JFK)United States | 3,559 km | 4 h 45 min |
| Los Angeles (LAX)United States | 4,382 km | 5 h 45 min |
| Singapore (SIN)Singapore | 18,461 km | 22 h 45 min |
| Tokyo Haneda (HND)Japan | 13,165 km | 16 h 20 min |
| Sydney (SYD)Australia | 13,802 km | 17 h 10 min |
Distances are the shortest path over the globe, worked out from the coordinates. Flying times are rough estimates for a direct jet flight. They do not mean that a direct flight exists. Work out the distance to any airport.
Links
Airport data: OurAirports, as downloaded on 11 November 2026. This page does not show live flights, terminals or airlines. For those, use the airport's or the airline's own site. See About and data sources.