Nature Air

Nature Air was an airline based in San José, Costa Rica. It operated scheduled international and domestic services, as well as regional charter services. Its main base was Juan Santamaría International Airport, San José.[1] It was the world's first carbon neutral airline.[2] In 2017, all 10 passengers and both crew members aboard Nature Air Flight 9916 were killed in a crash shortly after takeoff. All operations were indefinitely suspended on May 2, 2018.

Nature Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
5C NRR NATUREAIR
Founded1990
Ceased operationsMay 2, 2018
HubsJuan Santamaría International Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations15
HeadquartersSan José, Costa Rica
Key peopleAlex Khajavi (CEO & Founder)
Websitehttp://www.natureair.com/

History

The airline was founded in 1990 as Travel Air. In 2000 a tourism consulting company called Naturegate remodeled the airline together with a group of Costa Rican aviation experts and renamed it Nature Air.[3]

In 2004 they became the World's first Carbon Neutral airline through a government certified carbon offsetting program. The airline tallies total tons of carbon released from the fuel burned each year in flight and ground operations then donates funds to FONAFIFO, a forest financing division of the Environment Ministry, to preserve important tracts of rainforest land in the Osa Peninsula.[4]

To improve fuel efficiency a total of 7%, the airline optimized flight schedules, routes, in-flight procedures, and minimized taxi time on runways. Aerotica, a division of Nature Air, produces biodiesel fuel that is used in 90% of the company's ground vehicles and generators. The fuel is made from recycled vegetable oils collected from employees, local hotels, and restaurants.[5]

The airline also funds the NatureKids Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on providing language and computing education in the regions Nature Air flies to.[4]

The General Directorate of Civil Aviation of Costa Rica indefinitely suspended the operating permit to the airline “Nature Air” on May 2, 2018. The reason was the abandonment of its routes and inability to achieve safety standards.[6]

Destinations
A Nature Air Twin Otter at the Juan Santamaría Airport
Nature Air DHC-6-300 Twin Otter arriving at La Managua Airport, Quepos, Costa Rica.
Nature Air shuttle van services between Tobías Bolaños International Airport and Juan Santamaría International Airport.

Note: All operations were indefinitely suspended on May 2, 2018.

Nature Air operates services to the following scheduled destinations:[1]

Domestic

International

Fleet

In January 2018, the Nature Air fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[7]

Aircraft In service Passengers
Cessna 208B Grand Caravan 2 12
Total 2

A third Cessna 208B crashed on 31 December 2017. Nature Air's four Let L-410 Turbolets were repossessed in 2017 due to non-payment of their lease.[8]

Incidents and accidents

The following major incidents and accidents have occurred on flights operated by Nature Air:

Nature Air reported incidents
Flight Date Aircraft Location Passengers and crew Injuries
Fatal Serious Minor Ground or other injuries/fatalities
N/A[9] December 16, 2005 Twin Otter Tamarindo, Costa Rica 8 0 0 All
N/A[10] January 10, 2006 Twin Otter Puerto Jiménez Airport 13 0 ? ?
N/A[11] December 1, 2008 Twin Otter Tobías Bolaños International Airport, San José 15 0 0 0
N/A[12] (Operated by Aerobell) September 5, 2017 Cessna 206 Pavas, Costa Rica 6 2 1 3
New Year's Eve Crash[13][14] December 31, 2017 Cessna 208 Caravan Guanacaste, Costa Rica 12 12 0 0

They are currently grounded but are still booking flights through their website and not fulfilling them.

References
  1. "Costa Rica Domestic Flight Destinations - Nature Air". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  2. "Carbon Neutral Costa Rica Airline". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  3. "Airline in Costa Rica Nature Air". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  4. "Social Responsibility - Nature Air". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  5. "Nature Air Press Kit". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. "Flight Operations Suspened". Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  7. "Our Planes - Nature Air". Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  8. "Sacan de circulación 4 aviones de Nature Air". www.diarioextra.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  9. "Nacion.com, San José, Costa Rica [Sucesos]". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  10. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Vista Liner 300 TI-BAF Puerto Jiménez Airport (PJM)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  11. "15 personas se salvan al salirse avioneta de la pista". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  12. "Nature Air Plane to Guanacaste, Costa Rica Crashes: 1 Dead, 5 Injured - Costa Rica Star News". Costa Rica Star News. 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  13. "10 Tourists and 2 Crew Members Killed in Light Aircraft Crash in Costa Rica - Costa Rica Star News". Costa Rica Star News. 2017-12-31. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  14. "US tourists die in Costa Rica plane crash". 2 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
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