Sansa Airlines

SANSA Airlines (Servicios Aéreos Nacionales S.A.) is an airline based in San José, Costa Rica. It operates scheduled passenger services as part of the TACA Airlines regional airline system, and was a subsidiary of Avianca Costa Rica. Its hub is Juan Santamaría International Airport.[1]

Sansa Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
RZ LRS SANSA
FoundedAugust 28, 1979
HubsJuan Santamaría International Airport
Frequent-flyer programDistancia
Fleet size12
Destinations15
HeadquartersSan José, Costa Rica
Websitehttp://www.flysansa.com

History

The airline was established on August 28, 1979 as a domestic airline of LACSA.[1] It started operations on September 8 of the same year with two Douglas DC-3.

In 1983, it was assumed that LACSA will provide technical advice at all levels. In March 1987, operations were restarted with the CASA 212-200s that had been practically out of service since 1983.

Due to the restructuring measures of Avianca Holdings, TACA Regional dissolved and Sansa now operates independently.

Destinations
A SANSA Cessna 208 Caravan at Juan Santamaría International Airport

The destinations of Sansa Airlines are:[2]

Country City Airport Notes
Costa RicaBahía DrakeBahía Drake Airport
Costa RicaBarra del ColoradoBarra del Colorado AirportTerminated
Costa RicaCoto 47Coto 47 AirportTerminated
Costa RicaGolfitoGolfito Airport
Costa RicaLa Fortuna/ArenalLa Fortuna Arenal Airport
Costa RicaLiberiaDaniel Oduber Quirós International Airport
Costa RicaLimónLimón International Airport
Costa RicaNosaraNosara Airport
Costa RicaPalmar SurPalmar Sur Airport
Costa RicaPuerto CarilloCarrillo AirportTerminated
Costa RicaPuerto JiménezPuerto Jiménez Airport
Costa RicaPunta IslitaPunta Islita AirportTerminated
Costa RicaQueposQuepos La Managua Airport
Costa RicaSan Isidro de El GeneralSan Isidro de El General Airport
Costa RicaSan JoséJuan Santamaría International AirportHub
Costa RicaTamarindoTamarindo Airport
Costa RicaTamborTambor Airport
Costa RicaTortugueroTortuguero Airport
NicaraguaCosta EsmeraldaCosta Esmeralda Airport

Fleet

Current Fleet
SANSA's operations area at Juan Santamaría International Airport, next to the main terminal

As of September 2020, the SANSA fleet includes:[3]

  • 12 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan

Former fleet

Accidents and incidents
  • On April 19, 1984, A Douglas DC-3 (registered TI-SAA), charter flight coming from San Andres, Colombia crashed on "Cerro Santa Rosa" (northwest face of the Irazu Volcano), killing all on board.
  • On August 26, 2000, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan crashed into the Arenal Volcano, an active volcano in Costa Rica. The Cessna Caravan took off from Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José at 11:38, for a flight to Tamarindo. An intermediate stop at La Fortuna was made at 11:55 to drop off a Japanese tourist. The flight left La Fortuna again at 12:05 for a 35-minute flight to Tamarindo. The aircraft collided with the active 5380 feet (1650 m) high Arenal volcano, at around 656 feet (200 m) below the crater. All 8 passengers and 2 crew on board died in the crash.[5]
  • On November 28, 2001, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan crashed into the Cerro Chontal, a mountain in Costa Rica. The aircraft crashed approximately four minutes before it was expected to land into a wooded hillside of the Cerro Chontal. The aircraft appeared to be off the usual approach track for Quepos. Both crew members and 1 passenger died; 5 passengers survived the crash and were rescued the next day.[6]
  • On July 30, 2018, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (registered TI-BGB), left the runway of the Tamarindo Airport in the Guanacaste Province after landing, none of the ten occupants were injured.

References
  1. Sansa Website History, 16. September 2020
  2. Sansa Website Destinations, 16. September 2020
  3. rzjets: SANSA rzjets.com, accessdate 16. September 2020.
  4. Aviation Safety Network 16 January 1990, Cerro Cedral
  5. Aviation Safety Network 26 Augst 2000, Arenal Volcano
  6. Aviation Safety Network 28 November 2001, Cerro Chontal

Media related to SANSA Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

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