Vieques Air Link (VAL) is a small
Puerto RicanPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
airline company that links Vieques with
CulebraCulebra may refer to:* Culebra, Puerto Rico, an island* Isla Culebra, the Spanish name of Sedge Island, part of the Falkland archipelago* Culebra Peak, the southernmost fourteener in Colorado, United States...
and mainland
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
.
- IATA Code: VI
- ICAO Code: VES
- Callsign: Vieques
Operations began on 1965, with owner Osvaldo "Val" Gonzalez-Duriex piloting a plane with 3 passengers from Vieques to Humacao. A
CherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people from the Southeastern United States...
aircraft and another airplane were also acquired later, allowing the airline to serve
Isla Verde International AirportLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico , three miles southeast of San Juan...
.
In 1968, Vieques Air Link added a flight to St.
Vieques Air Link (VAL) is a small
Puerto RicanPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
airline company that links Vieques with
CulebraCulebra may refer to:* Culebra, Puerto Rico, an island* Isla Culebra, the Spanish name of Sedge Island, part of the Falkland archipelago* Culebra Peak, the southernmost fourteener in Colorado, United States...
and mainland
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
.
Airline code and callsign
- IATA Code: VI
- ICAO Code: VES
- Callsign: Vieques
History
Operations began on 1965, with owner Osvaldo "Val" Gonzalez-Duriex piloting a plane with 3 passengers from Vieques to Humacao. A
CherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people from the Southeastern United States...
aircraft and another airplane were also acquired later, allowing the airline to serve
Isla Verde International AirportLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico , three miles southeast of San Juan...
.
In 1968, Vieques Air Link added a flight to St. Croix in the
Virgin IslandsThe Virgin Islands are an archipelago, part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles, where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean....
.
In 1980 Fajardo airport was built and Vieques Air Link started flights to the new airport immediately. In the 1980s the company increased the frequency of flights to
San JuanSan Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
, Humacao and Culebra. In 1989, Vieques Air Link lost its whole fleet to
Hurricane HugoHurricane Hugo was a destructive Category 5 hurricane that struck Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and North Carolina in September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, killing 109 people and leaving nearly 100,000 homeless....
. However, it soon acquired seven
Britten-NormanBritten-Norman is a British aircraft manufacturer owned by members of the Zawawi family from the Sultanate of Oman, making it one of the UK's two remaining independent commercial aircraft producers, the other being Slingsby Aviation of Kirkbymoorside in Yorkshire.Britten-Norman has sold more than...
IslandersThe Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, mainline airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...
and three
TrislandersThe Britten-Norman Trislander is an 18-seat three-engined piston-powered civilian utility aircraft produced in the 1970s and early 1980s by Britten-Norman of Britain. The aircraft were produced on the Isle of Wight...
.
In the 1990s VAL got into financial trouble. With the Vieques conflict, more and more
Puerto RicansPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
began flying Vieques Air Link every day to go to military camps to protest, and the police also had to fly their personnel and the people arrested in those areas on VAL planes at various times. Others, like political leaders
Ruben BerriosRubén Ángel Berríos Martínez is a lawyer, a Puerto Rican politician, and the current president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party...
and Fernando Martin, and the 2002
Miss Puerto RicoMiss Puerto Rico is the common name or sash used to identify a Puerto Rican representative in an international pageant. Currently, Miss Universe Puerto Rico and Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico are the official national preliminaries to the Miss Universe and Miss World international pageants respectively...
, who is from Vieques, have had pictures taken by the press aboard VAL planes while flying to Vieques, giving the airline a new wave of unpaid-for promotional attention.
In 2008, VAL started a new route between VQS and the new
José Aponte de la Torre AirportJosé Aponte de la Torre Airport is a public use airport owned by Puerto Rico Ports Authority and located two nautical miles from the central business district of Ceiba, a town in Puerto Rico....
(JAT) at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Base, shortening the flight between Vieques and the
isla grande to seven to eight minutes in a Caravan.
Destinations
Vieques Air Link provides service at the following locations:
- Vieques
Vieques , in full Isla de Vieques, is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean. Although Puerto Rico is a U.S. Commonwealth, Vieques, like the rest of Puerto Rico, retains strong Spanish influences from 400 years of Spanish ownership.Vieques lies about to the east of the...
(VQS) - Antonio Rivera Rodríguez AirportAntonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is a small commercial air facility on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Because a large amount of Vieques' yearly revenue comes from the tourism industry, this small airport plays an important part in Vieques' economic outlook.The airport has been for decades the...
- Ceiba
Ceiba is a small town in northeast Puerto Rico. It is named after the famous Ceiba tree. Ceiba is located in the east coast of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Naguabo, south of Fajardo, and east of Río Grande. It is located about one hour's driving distance from San Juan...
(RVR) - José Aponte de la Torre AirportJosé Aponte de la Torre Airport is a public use airport owned by Puerto Rico Ports Authority and located two nautical miles from the central business district of Ceiba, a town in Puerto Rico....
- Culebra
Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
(CPX) - Benjamín Rivera Noriega AirportBenjamín Rivera Noriega Airport is a public airport located on the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico. It is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.- Facilities and aircraft :...
- Isla Grande (San Juan
San Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
) (SIG) - Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci AirportFernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport , also commonly known as Isla Grande Airport, is a small airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is adjacent to the new Puerto Rico Convention Center, the San Juan Bay, and the Pan American Cruise Ship Terminal, and overlooks Cataño.While Isla Grande's main...
- San Juan
San Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
(SJU) - Luis Muñoz Marín International AirportLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico , three miles southeast of San Juan...
- St. Croix, USVI (STX) - Henry E. Rohlsen Airport
- St. Thomas, USVI (STT) - Cyril E. King Airport
Cyril E. King Airport is a public airport located two miles west of the central business district of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. It is currently the busiest airport in the United States Virgin Islands, and one of the busiest in the eastern...
Fleet
- 3 - Cessna Caravan
- 5 - Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, mainline airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...
- 2 - Britten-Norman Trislander
The Britten-Norman Trislander is an 18-seat three-engined piston-powered civilian utility aircraft produced in the 1970s and early 1980s by Britten-Norman of Britain. The aircraft were produced on the Isle of Wight...
Accidents
- December 21, 1971 - an Islander, N589JA, with 1 crew and 7 passengers crashed at Culebra airport. Upon landing, The aircraft bounced on landing. The pilot initiated a go-around over hills. The aircraft was unable to clear a house and crashed.
- December 19, 1977 - an Islander, N862JA, crashed en route from St. Croix to Vieques when both engines flamed out due to fuel exhaustion. The aircraft was ditched off Vieques. There were 9 passengers and a pilot on board. Five were killed and the aircraft was written off.
- August 2, 1984 - an Islander, N589SA, crashed on initial climb out of Vieques en route to St. Croix. The Islander was overloaded by 600-700 pounds when it departed Vieques. Also, its centre of gravity was up to 5 inches behind the aft limit. After takeoff the left engine lost power. It lost altitude, banked abruptly to the left, nosed down and crashed into the ocean. It appeared that the fuel had been contaminated with water. On board were the pilot and 8 passengers, all were killed.
- September 21, 1989 - the following Islanders were damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a destructive Category 5 hurricane that struck Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and North Carolina in September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, killing 109 people and leaving nearly 100,000 homeless....
.
- November 19, 1999, N907VL, an Islander was damaged beyond repair at Anguilla Wallblake Airport
Anguilla Wallblake Airport is a small international airport located on the island of Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is located very close to The Valley, the island's capital.-Airlines and destinations:* American Airlines...
by Hurricane LennyHurricane Lenny was the 12th tropical storm, eighth hurricane, and fifth major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Lenny was the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in November, and quite unusual in that it moved west-to-east across the Caribbean...
.
See also
External links