The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (formerly known as Isla Verde International Airport) is a joint civil-military international airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles (five kilometers) southeast of San Juan. It is the busiest airport in the Caribbean region by passenger traffic. Over 4 million passengers board a plane at the airport per year according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority but managed by Aerostar Airport Holdings, a public-private partnership which was awarded a lease by the government of Puerto Rico to operate and manage the airport for 40 years. SJU is the second international airport to be privatized in the United States and its territories, and the only currently privatized airport in the nation. As of 2008-Today, the airport has been receiving major upgrades, including a new terminal (Terminal A), pavement and expansions, new light systems, press conference rooms, and new fast food franchises along its corridors. New airlines have begun operating from San Juan to other international routes and destinations. Over $400 million was used to expand the airport facilities through 2011. Terminal A opened on June 6, 2012 and is occupied by JetBlue Airways. As of 2013, Agustín Arellano, CEO of Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC, operator of the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, announced major upgrades that have begun taking place. JetBlue's new Terminal A will also receive improvements. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is the Island's main international gateway and its main connection to the United States. Domestic flights fly between Carolina and other local destinations, including Culebra, Mayagüez and Vieques. The airport offers rapid access to San Juan district of Hato Rey, the island's financial district via the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge. Easy access to Old San Juan is obtained via the Baldorioty de Castro Expressway (PR-26). Teodoro Moscoso Bridge connecting the city of San Juan to the LMM International Airport in Carolina
The airport serves as the Caribbean hub for Cape Air, Air Sunshine, and Seaborne Airlines, as well as a focus city for JetBlue Airways. JetBlue is the largest carrier in San Juan, with 51 daily flights on an average day. Until 1955, the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport was the main international airport of Puerto Rico. This is until the early start of the jet age that many of the airlines that served Puerto Rico were changing from propelled to jet aircraft, and Isla Grande's 4,000 foot runway at the time did not have the distance for jet planes to take off and land. Isla Grande's runway is now 5,542 feet in length. In 1951, Governor Luis Muñoz Marin authorized the construction of a modern airport with a runway long enough to land jet aircraft. In addition, the airport would be a major meeting point for tourism in Latin America, not only for passenger traffic, but also for air cargo. It would not serve only as an international airport, but also as the home of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. The airport opened on May 22, 1955. Located in the area known as Isla Verde. By the time of its construction it had only one runway (Runway 8/26), the old tower which today is on the top of the Airport Hotel, three terminals and 200 car parking space. In the late 1960s, construction of Runway 10/28 began and was finished by 1972. In 1985, Governor Rafael Hernández Colón renamed the airport Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico's first democratically elected governor. The airport served as a Caribbean hub for Pan Am, Trans Caribbean Airways, Eastern Air Lines, and a short lived focus city for TWA. It was also the hub of Puerto Rico's international airline, Prinair from 1966 until 1984, when Prinair went bankrupt. In 1986, American Airlines, along with American Eagle, established a hub in the airport to compete with Eastern Air Lines. American then ended hub operations due to flight capacity cuts and continued to operate a focus city until April 4, 2011. American Eagle service, operated by San Juan-based Executive Airlines with ATR-72 turboprop aircraft, was completely shut down on April 1, 2013 although American continues to serve the airport. In the past, the airport has been served by defunct airlines like Caribair (which was based in San Juan), ATA Airlines, and Northwest Airlines.

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