The airport was born with a single 2649 meter post office and a terminal on Guillermo Killman Avenue.[citation needed][when?] In 1988, as an expansion plan, due to the fact that the old terminal was becoming more and more crowded and a longer runway was needed for more modern and larger aircraft, a new 3798 meter runway was created and put into operation in 1990, and a new air terminal was inaugurated years later in 1997, with the old terminal becoming a cargo terminal that currently houses a Boliviana de Aviacion hangar.[citation needed] 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 Airport, and Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[citation needed]Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos Sociedad Anonima (SABSA) was created to operate the concession. In 1999, Airport Group International was purchased by TBI plc and, in 2004, Spain's Abertis/AENA purchased TBI and operated it until 2013 when the Government ordered the nationalization of SABSA, the company Airport Group International created. SABSA Nacionalizada has operated the airport since 2013. In the same year, 3 boarding jetways boarding bridges were installed.[citation needed]
SABSA has been substituted in March of 2022 by the newly established government agency Navegación Aérea y Aeropuertos Bolivianos (NAABOL). This state-owned agency now manages the airports in Bolivia. [4]
^"Aeropuertos Controlados" (in Spanish). Administración de Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxliares a la Navegación Aérea (AASANA). Archived from the original on 23 June 2008.
