Editing Vieques Air Link

{{Short description|Puerto Rican airline}}
{{Other uses|Airlink (disambiguation)}}
{{One source|date=May 2011}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline = Vieques Air Link
| image = Vieques Air Link Logo.png
| image_size = 250
| IATA = V4
| ICAO = VES
| callsign = VIEQUES
| founded = {{start date|1965}}
| ceased = 
| aoc = VLIA127A<ref name="FAA">{{cite web|url=https://av-info.faa.gov/detail.asp?DSGN_CODE=VLIA&OPER_FAR=135&OPER_NAME=VIEQUES+AIR+LINK+INC|title=Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View|website=av-info.faa.gov|access-date=2019-06-27}}</ref>
| hubs = [[Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport]]
| secondary_hubs = Roosevelt Roads Airport(TJRV), “Roosevelt Roads Aviation Services, LLC”
| focus_cities = CPX, RVR, SIG, VQS
| frequent_flyer = 
| lounge = 
| alliance = 
| subsidiaries = 
| fleet_size = 11
| destinations = 4 Destinations Scheduled(SIG, VQS, RVR, CPX), other 4 Dest. have to be Charter Flights.
| parent = Blue Water Air Charters, LLC
| company_slogan = 
| headquarters = VIG Tower, Santurce, Puerto Rico
| key_people = Carlos Rodriguez
| num_employees = 29(Estimate)
| website = [http://www.viequesairlink.com/ viequesairlink.com]
}}
[[File:N906VL Vieques Air Link Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk3-2 Trislander CN1060 (4257223448).jpg|thumb|A Vieques Air Link Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk3-2 Trislander]]
'''Vieques Air Link''' ('''VAL''', IATA code: '''V4''') is a small VFR (Visual Flight Rules) [[Puerto Rico]]-based airline that operates under FAR Part 135, that links [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]] and [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]] with mainland [[Puerto Rico]].

== History ==
Operations began during 1965, with owner [[Osvaldo Gonzalez-Duriex|Osvaldo "Val" Gonzalez-Duriex]] piloting a plane with three passengers from Vieques to [[Humacao, Puerto Rico|Humacao]]. A [[Piper PA-28 Cherokee|Cherokee]] aircraft and another airplane were also acquired later, allowing the airline to serve [[Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport|Isla Verde International Airport]].
[[File:Vieques Air Link BN-2B-27 Islander.jpg|thumb|A Vieques Air Link BN-2B-27 Islander]]
In 1968, Vieques Air Link added a flight to [[St. Croix]] in the [[Virgin Islands]].

In 1980 [[Fajardo Airport]] in [[Fajardo, Puerto Rico|Fajardo]] was built and Vieques Air Link started flights to the new airport immediately. In the 1980s the company increased the frequency of flights to [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], Humacao and Culebra. In 1989, Vieques Air Link lost its entire fleet to [[Hurricane Hugo]]. However, it soon acquired seven [[Britten-Norman]] [[Britten-Norman Islander|Islanders]] and three [[Britten-Norman Trislander|Trislanders]].

In the 1990s VAL got into financial trouble. However, with the Vieques conflict, more and more [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Ricans]] began flying Vieques Air Link every day to go to military camps to protest, and the police also had to fly their personnel and the people arrested in those areas on VAL planes at various times. Others, like political leaders [[Ruben Berrios]] and [[Fernando Martín García|Fernando Martín]], and the 2002 [[Miss Puerto Rico]] [[Carla Tricoli]], who is a Viequense, have had pictures taken by the press aboard VAL planes while flying to Vieques, giving the airline a new wave of unpaid-for promotional attention. In addition, in June 2000, the airline made the cover of [[Islander News]] magazine, under the headline "Vieques Air Link: How To Survive a Hurricane", about the airline's fleet loss of 1989 and how it survived the potentially fatal financial disaster.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BN-Islander-Historians-65-2000-June-Vieques-Air-Link-/400576720598?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d443baed6 |title=BN Islander Historians 65 2000 June Vieques Air Link &#124; eBay |access-date=March 2, 2015 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090727/http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BN-Islander-Historians-65-2000-June-Vieques-Air-Link-/400576720598?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d443baed6 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2008, VAL added a new route between [[Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport]] (TJVQ) in Vieques and the new [[José Aponte de la Torre Airport]] (TJRV) at the former [[Roosevelt Roads Naval Base]] (NRR) in Ceiba, shortening the flight between Vieques and the Puerto Rican mainland to seven or eight minutes in a Britten-Norman Islander (BN2P), or Piper Cherokee (PA-32-260).

== Destinations ==
Vieques Air Link, Inc provides flights at the following locations:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vieques-island.com/val/Schedule.htm |title=Vieques Air Link: Schedule |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215120948/http://www.vieques-island.com/val/Schedule.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2012}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
|  style="background:#fada5e; text-align:center;"|<sup>[Hub]</sup>||[[Airline hub|Hub]]
|-
|  style="background:#ffff80; text-align:center;"|<sup>[F]</sup>||Future destination
|-
|  style="background:#ffd1dc; text-align:center;"|<sup>[S]</sup>||Seasonal
|-
|  style="background:#ddd; text-align:center;"|<sup>[T]</sup> ||Charter destinations
|-
|
|Scheduled Destinations
|}

{|class="sortable wikitable toccolours"
|-
! style="background:navy; color:white;"|City
! style="background:navy; color:white;"|Country
! style="background:navy; color:white; width:50px;"|IATA
! style="background:navy; color:white; width:50px;"|ICAO
! style="background:navy; color:white;"|Airport
! style="background:navy; color:white;" class="unsortable"|Refs
|-
|[[Aguadilla, Puerto Rico]]||{{flag|Puerto Rico}}||align=center|BQN||align=center|TJBQ||style="background:#ddd;"|[[Rafael Hernandez Airport]]||<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/26/archives/whats-doing-in-puerto-rico.html|title=What's Doing in PUERTO RICO|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 26, 1976|last1=Suarez|first1=Manuel}}</ref>
|-
|[[Ceiba, Puerto Rico]]||{{flag|Puerto Rico}}||align=center|RVR||align=center|TJRV||style="background:#fada5e;|[[José Aponte de la Torre Airport]]||
|-
|[[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]]||{{flag|Puerto Rico}}||align=center|CPX||align=center|TJCP||[[Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport]]||
|-
|[[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]]||{{flag|Puerto Rico}}||align=center|SIG||align=center|TJIG||[[Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport|Isla Grande Airport]]||
|-
|[[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]]||{{flag|Puerto Rico}} ||align=center|SJU||align=center|TJSJ||style="background:#ddd;"|[[Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport]]||
|-
|[[St. Croix, USVI|St. Croix]]||{{flag|United States Virgin Islands}} ||align=center|STX||align=center|TISX||style="background:#ddd;"|[[Henry E. Rohlsen Airport]]||
|-
|[[St. Thomas, USVI]]||{{flag|United States Virgin Islands}}||align=center|STT||align=center|TIST||style="background:#ddd;"|[[Cyril E. King Airport]]||
|-
|[[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]]||{{flag|Puerto Rico}}||align=center|VQS||align=center|TJVQ||style="background:#fada5e;|[[Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport]]||
|}

== Fleet ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Aircraft !! In fleet !! Notes
|-
| [[Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six]] || 4 || Passenger 
|-
| [[Britten-Norman Islander]] || 7 ||Passenger/Med Transport/Cargo
|-
| [[Britten-Norman Trislander]] || 1 ||Cargo
|}
*
*

== Accidents and incidents ==
* On December 21, 1971, an Islander, N589JA, with 1 crew and 7 passengers crashed at Culebra airport. The aircraft bounced on landing. The pilot initiated a [[go-around]] over hills. The aircraft was unable to clear a house and crashed.
* On December 19, 1977, an Islander, N862JA, [[1977 Vieques Air Link crash|crashed]] en route from St. Croix to Vieques when both engines stopped due to fuel exhaustion. The aircraft was ditched off Vieques. There were 9 passengers and a pilot on board. Five were killed and the aircraft was written off.
* On January 26, 1980, a bomb was found on a Vieques Air Link plane that was about to be flown by Raul Mari Pesquera, son of [[Juan Mari Bras]]<ref>http://despiertaboricua.tumblr.com/post/11521423866/lista-de-atentados-terroristas-hacia-puerto-rico {{User-generated source|date=August 2022}}</ref> (in Spanish).
* On August 2, 1984, an Islander, N589SA, operating as [[Vieques Air Link Flight 901A]], crashed on initial climb out of Vieques en route to St. Croix. The Islander was overloaded by 600–700 pounds when it departed Vieques. Also, its centre of gravity was up to 5&nbsp;inches behind the aft limit. After takeoff the left engine lost power. It lost altitude, banked abruptly to the left, nosed down and crashed into the ocean. It appeared that the fuel had been contaminated with water. On board were the pilot and 8 passengers, all were killed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR85-08.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321053537/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR85-08.pdf|archive-date=2015-03-21|title=Aircraft Accident Report: Vieques Air Link, Inc., Britten-Norman BN-2A-6 Islander, N589SA. Vieques, Puerto Rico. August 2, 1984|publisher=[[NTSB]]|date=1985-09-27|url-status=usurped|access-date=2016-07-21}}</ref>
* On September 21, 1989, the following Islanders were damaged beyond repair by [[Hurricane Hugo]].
**N112JC
**N290VL
**N457SA
* On November 19, 1999, an Islander, N907VL, was damaged beyond repair at [[Anguilla Wallblake Airport]] by [[Hurricane Lenny]].
* On May 6, 2000, a Vieques Air Link pilot allegedly flew a company aircraft over Camp Garcia, a restricted US Navy area, on a scheduled flight an hour after protesters had been removed from the area by FBI agents and U.S. Marshals, resulting in the suspension of the pilot.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-07-mn-27464-story.html| title = Archives - Los Angeles Times| website = [[Los Angeles Times]]| date = May 7, 2000}}</ref>
* On June 2, 2020, 2 people died and one was seriously injured when a Vieques Air Link [[Piper Aztec]] crashed against two sailboats at San Juan Bay. It's not clear which of the two San Juan airports the flight was heading to.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dead-small-plane-crashes-waters-puerto-rico-71030825|title=2 dead after small plane crashes in waters near Puerto Rico|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref> This marked the first incident involving fatalities for the airline in almost 36 years.

== See also ==
* [[Transportation in Puerto Rico#Airlines based in Puerto Rico]]
* [[List of airports in Puerto Rico]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://viequesairlink.com}}
* [http://www.aircharterguide.com/Operator_Info/VIEQUES_AIR_LINK%2c_INC./699 Air Charter Guide]
* [https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/operators/7382 Aviation-Safety Net]

{{Airlines of the United States}}
{{Portal bar|Puerto Rico|Companies|Aviation}}

[[Category:Vieques Air Link| ]]
[[Category:Airlines of Puerto Rico]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1965]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican brands]]
[[Category:1965 establishments in Puerto Rico]]
[[Category:Vieques, Puerto Rico]]