# Viru Viru International Airport

Viru Viru International Airport (IATA: VVI, ICAO: SLVR) in Santa Cruz de la Sierra is Bolivia's largest international airport. Viru Viru handles domestic, regional, and international flights from Bolivia, North America, South America and Europe and serves as a focus city for Bolivia's biggest airline Boliviana de Aviación. The airport is able to handle widebody aircraft including the Boeing 747-400.

## History

The idea of having an airport in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra was conceived in 1965 by General René Barrientos, former president of Bolivia, with the intention of creating an intercontinental airport. Shortly thereafter, construction of the airport began until it was completed and inaugurated in 1983, to replace the obsolete El Trompillo Airport. Upon its inauguration, Viru Viru became a main gateway for international flights. Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano used Viru Viru as a hub before ceasing operations in 2008.
On 1 March 1997, the government of Bolivia entered into a 25-year contract with Airport Group International to operate the three largest airports in Bolivia — El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Jorge Wilstermann International Airport in Cochabamba and Viru Viru International Airport. Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos Sociedad Anonima (SABSA) was created to operate the concession. In 1999, Airport Group International was purchased by TBI plc.
In 2004, Spain's Abertis/AENA purchased TBI. SABSA has been substituted in March of 2022 by the newly established government agency Navegación Aérea y Aeropuertos Bolivianos (NAABOL). This state-owned agency now manages the airports in Bolivia.

### Name

The name "Viru Viru" originates from the indigenous Guarani language spoken in the area. Most likely, "Viru Viru" refers to a toponym or a distinctive geographical feature after which the airport was named.There is some ambiguity about the meaning of it based on sources in the internet. Different meanings have been proposed:
* Some say it means "round object" or "round place", referring to a nearby hill that has a circular shape, resembling a round object.
* Others say it refers to a river that has now disappeared and was located 13 kilometres from the city. The tributary was in the same pampa where the airport was built.
* Lastly, it could mean "pampa, plain", which was the name of the whole geographical area of the place where the airport was built.
Today, some researchers claim that the correct spelling of the term would be "Birubiru".

## Airlines and destinations
### Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Viru Viru International Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
| Aerolíneas Argentinas | Buenos Aires–Aeroparque |
| Air Europa | Madrid |
| Avianca | Bogotá |
| Boliviana de Aviación | Asunción, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Caracas, Cochabamba, La Paz, Lima, Madrid, Miami, Oruro, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Sucre, Tarija, Trinidad |
| Conviasa | Caracas |
| Copa Airlines | Panama City–Tocumen |
| EcoJet | Cobija, Guayaramerín, Riberalta, Sucre, Tarija, Trinidad |
| Gol Linhas Aéreas | São Paulo–Guarulhos |
| LATAM Chile | Santiago de Chile |
| LATAM Perú | Lima |
| Paranair | Asunción |
| TAMep | Cochabamba, La Paz |

### Cargo

| Airlines | Destinations |
| AerCaribe | Lima |
| TAB - Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos | Cochabamba, La Paz, Miami |

## Statistics

Busiest international routes from VVI (2015–2016) :
| Rank | City | Passengers | Top carriers | % Change |
| 1 | Miami, United States | 386,496 | American Airlines, Boliviana de Aviación | 4% |
| 2 | São Paulo (Guarulhos), Brazil | 372,773 | Boliviana de Aviación, Gol Airlines | 10% |
| 3 | Buenos Aires (Ezeiza), Argentina | 358,943 | Aerolíneas Argentinas, Boliviana de Aviación | 43% |
| 4 | Madrid, Spain | 348,603 | Air Europa, Boliviana de Aviación | 5% |
| 5 | Panama City, Panama | 278,277 | Copa Airlines | 15% |
| 6 | Lima, Peru | 268,584 | Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Perú | 26% |
| 7 | Iquique, Chile | 94,733 | Amaszonas, LATAM Chile | 7% |
| 8 | Asunción, Paraguay | 79,962 | Amaszonas, LATAM Paraguay | 13% |