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Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport (SAL): arrival & transit guide

What to expect landing at Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador: the arrival flow, transit rules, and onward transport.

San Salvador's Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport, often still called by its older name Comalapa, is El Salvador's only commercial airport and sits well outside the capital, roughly an hour's drive south. International flights arrive at the main terminal, where the path from the gate runs through immigration, then baggage claim, then customs on the way to the exit.

A large share of nationalities enter El Salvador without a visa for an ordinary tourist stay, while others need an e-visa arranged online before departure; which applies is a function of your own passport rather than anything decided at the airport, so confirm it against the requirement above ahead of time. El Salvador also participates in the CA-4 regional agreement with Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, so a stay counted against one of those four countries can count against your allowance in the others too.

There is no dedicated airside transit area here, so a same-day onward international connection still means clearing immigration, collecting any checked bags, and going back through security rather than staying airside.

Outside arrivals, taxis and pre-arranged transfers are the standard way to San Salvador or onward elsewhere in the country; public buses also connect from a stop near the terminal.

All passports for El Salvador