VVISLVR

Viru Viru International Airport

Santa Cruz, Bolivia · Latin America

Latin America America/La_Paz

19direct destinations

10airlines

1runway

3,500 mLongest runway

1984opened

Viru Viru International Airport (IATA: VVI, ICAO: SLVR) is an international airport serving Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located 17 km (11 mi) north of the city. It is Bolivia's primary air terminal, handling much of the international traffic into the country. In 2023, the airport handled 4.12 million passengers, making it the busiest airport in Bolivia. It serves as a major focus city for Boliviana de Aviación and offers routes to destinations across South America, North America, and Europe.

Location

17.645°S, 63.135°O · 373 m s. n. m. (1.224 ft)

General data

CountryBolivia

CitySanta Cruz

IATA codeVVI

ICAO codeSLVR

Coordinates17.645°S, 63.135°O

Elevation373 m s. n. m. (1.224 ft)

Time zoneAmerica/La_Paz

Runways1

Longest runway3,500 m

OperatorAbertis

Opened1984

Direct destinations19

Official website

Runways · 1

16/34

Length3,500 m11,483 ft

Width45 m148 ft

SurfaceConcrete

Lighted✓

Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.

Radio frequencies · 5

Tower

118.600

Ground

121.900

Clearance delivery

121.800CLNC DEL

Approach

119.700

Flight information

127.100SANTA CRUZ RDO

Look for a live feed on LiveATC External site; not every airport has a feed.

Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.

History

Plans for the airport 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. The airport was nationalized by the Bolivian government in 2013. SABSA has been substituted in March 2022 by the newly established government agency Navegación Aérea y Aeropuertos Bolivianos (NAABOL). This state-owned agency now manages the airports in Bolivia. 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 the correct spelling of the term would be "Birubiru".

Airlines operating here · 10

Airlines using it as a main base (hub)

Boliviana de Aviación

Other airlines with direct routes

EcoJet Transporte Aéreo Militar Air Europa Avianca Copa Airlines Gol Transportes Aéreos LATAM Airlines Chile LATAM Airlines Peru Paranair

Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).

Photo: Edgar Claure · CC BY-SA 3.0 · view original

Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

See all airports Search “Santa Cruz”

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Viru Viru International Airport (VVI). Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/VVI

MLA

“Viru Viru International Airport (VVI).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/VVI. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Viru Viru International Airport (VVI).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/VVI.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Viru Viru International Airport (VVI). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/VVI (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_vvi,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Viru Viru International Airport (VVI)}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/VVI},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/VVI}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/VVI |title=Viru Viru International Airport (VVI) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}