Puerto Rico: Information on Air Cargo Infrastructure and Operations

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024 includes a provision for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study air cargo operations in Puerto Rico. This report describes (1) trends in air cargo operations from 2015 through 2024 at Puerto Rico’s three international airports, (2) conditions at these airports to support air cargo operations and improvements needed for growth, and (3) government and industry efforts to promote air cargo growth and potential effects of such growth. GAO analyzed Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau air cargo data. GAO also interviewed officials from the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, and Transportation; interviewed Puerto Rico government officials, including airport officials at Puerto Rico’s three international airports; and reviewed associated documents from these entities. GAO also interviewed a nongeneralizable sample of 29 air cargo stakeholders, including air carriers and health care manufacturers with perspectives on air cargo operations and infrastructure at Puerto Rico’s airports. GAO observed air cargo operations and infrastructure conditions in Puerto Rico. GAO found that air cargo volume handled by Puerto Rico’s three international airports fluctuated between 2015 and 2024, hitting a low of 501 million pounds in 2019 before increasing to 621 million pounds in 2024, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics’s air carrier data. Health care-related goods—including pharmaceuticals and medical devices—accounted for about half of the reported cargo volume leaving Puerto Rico, according to Census trade data.

• Record URL:
  • https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-107762.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-107762-highlights.pdf
• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. Government Accountability Office

  441 G Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20548
• Publication Date: 2026-2-17

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 64p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air cargo; Economic development; Freight traffic; International airports; Statistical trends
• Geographic Terms: Puerto Rico
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Economics; Freight Transportation; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01980094
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: GAO-26-107762
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 19 2026 5:04PM