Costa Rica halts all flights after radar failure at main airport

San José, Costa Rica — All flights entering and leaving the country were suspended Wednesday morning after an electrical failure knocked out the radar system at the capital's main international airport, officials said. The Civil Aviation Authority said the outage occurred before dawn and that technicians were working to resolve it. For now, authorities said that no planes would be allowed to take off or land in Costa Rica between 6 a.m. and 12 p.m. Costa Rica has a second international airport in Guanacaste, but aviation authorities said that the radar failure affects flights there as well.

Some airlines posted notices on social media advising passengers to contact their carriers to reschedule, authorities said. They cautioned that officials had not yet provided an estimate for how many flights would be canceled or delayed.

The outage interrupts both international and domestic traffic, with officials saying no departures or arrivals would be allowed during the designated window. Authorities did not provide a timeline for when radar service would be restored, and technicians continued to diagnose the fault.

The radar outage affects both of the country’s international gateways, including the capital’s main airport and the second international airport in Guanacaste, authorities said. Travelers were advised to monitor airline communications and contact their carriers for rescheduling options as the situation developed.

As technicians work to diagnose and repair the electrical fault, aviation officials stressed that the disruption is temporary and that updates would be issued as information becomes available.