Escobar International Airport

Escobar International Airport
Information
Appearances	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories;
Owner	City of Vice
Location	Vice City Mainland
Hub for	Vice City Air; Taylair; Air Rockstar; Haitian Air; East Sky Airlines;

Escobar International Airport (EIA), also known simply as Escobar International (by the HUD or police radio chatter) or as the Vice City International Airport (VCIA) (by the signs on the actual airport itself), is the airport in Vice City for both Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

Escobar International Airport is bordered to the north by the Fort Baxter Air Base, a military installation that houses military equipment and personnel, while Viceport (also referred to in road signs as "VicePort"), the city's seaport, is located to the southeast. Little Havana borders Escobar International Airport at parts in the east and the EIA is bordered by ocean in every other location.

Description

Structures

The tarmac area at dusk as viewed northwards in GTA Vice City.

Escobar International consists of three terminals, one at the north which is a standard blocky terminal with the addition of below-ground entrances, the other passenger terminal to the south is more distinctive, with its weaved roof and massive glass wall facing the airport's southern side. The southern terminal is also distinctive in that the player can easily enter the building and explore its spacious interior, the only airport to feature a normally accessible interior; however, the only access points to the terminal building are equipped with metal detectors that automatically leave the player's weapons, if any, outside whenever the player enters the building. Both passenger terminals are separated by lawns and a short term car park.

The third terminal is the Freight and Cargo Terminal, south east of both terminals. Escobar International also has a V.I.P. Terminal, as well as a long term car park, next to Vice City Transport Police headquarters.

Tarmac area

The airport tarmac itself is largely non-interactive. The tarmac, predictably, is occupied by non-interactive passengers plane and private jets, while the former may also be seen taking off and landing at the airport's runways. In addition, no controllable aircraft can be found within the airport in GTA Vice City while GTA Vice City Stories' rendition of the airport spawns a Maverick, a Sparrow, a Hunter, and a Biplane after completion of certain missions. In both games, the player can also find Baggage Handlers driven by Security Guards traveling along a predetermined route within the tarmac area.

Influences

EIA does not appear to be based on any particular real-life airport, although it is located similarly to that in Miami, and the airport's logo is quite obviously based off of MIA's logo; the airport is situated on its own peninsula in the southwest of the city. The most significant airport in real-life Miami is Opa-Locka Executive Airport.

Airlines

Trivia

In the cutscene where Ken Rosenberg picks up Tommy, Harry, and Lee from the airport, an airplane can be seen landing on the curved runway. Realistically, it is not possible to land like that, hinting that a curved runway used to be there.
The airport is evidently named after Pablo Escobar, an infamous Colombian drug lord. The airport may also be named after Andres Escobar, a Colombian footballer (soccer player) killed in 1994 over betting in a 1994 FIFA World Cup game.

Gallery

GTA Vice City

Boundaries of Escobar International, including Fort Baxter. In GTA Vice City Stories, Fort Baxter is a district separate from Escobar International.
Logo of "Vice City International Airport" featured in various parts of Escobar International.
Exterior of Terminal A, Escobar International's main terminal.
Rear view of Terminal A.
Interior of Terminal A with a Mavis car rental stall in the foreground.
Terminal B, the northern terminal building of the airport, which is actually a derivative of Francis International's main terminal. It fronts the airport's short-term parking lot.
The airport's control tower.
The Vice City Transport Police building, with the airport long-term parking lot in view to the right.
Escobar International's "Freight and Cargo Terminal".
Three of the airport's four runways. The fourth runway is a curved airstrip that serves Terminal B.

GTA Vice City Stories

Terminal A is illuminated with pink neon lights along its roof in both the day and night.
A marina is added on the western shoreline of Escobar International. It is most prominently featured as a destination in the first mission.
A shortcut between neighboring Little Havana and Escobar International is included to cut traveling time between the airport and the rest of Vice City Mainland to the north.
Similarly, a wooden bridge is also added to bridge northern Escobar International and Fort Baxter to Little Havana's old seaport.