01
Wide-body & private jet
From a light jet to a full 777, one caterer, one standard
Aviation catering — Limón, Costa Rica
Airline catering, VIP & private jet catering at Limón (MRLM / LIO)
LIO (IATA) · MRLM (ICAO)
The single narrow-body stand at Limón takes a scheduled turn, a diverted sector or a chartered rotation on the same reference code, so inflight catering here is planned to one runway rather than to a bank of gates. AERO GOURMET runs in-flight catering off that stand with hi-loader boarding to galley height, uplift sealed at the kitchen and carried airside for wide-body-standard cabins on a narrow-body frame.
1,800 m
Longest runway
Narrow-body
Largest aircraft handled
1
Runways
02
VIP at any volume
8 First covers or 400 passengers across three cabins, same execution
03
24/7 order desk
Ad hoc, AOG and same-day uplift answered around the clock
04
Multi-leg coordination
One loading sheet, every leg of your rotation
On the apron — Limón
Hi-loader aviation catering on the LIO apron
Everything below is what we measure at this station — distances, windows, who signs what.
Airport catering order window at MRLM
Aircraft catering sealed from kitchen to galley at Limón
Ramp access at MRLM is planned before the aircraft is on stand, not once it has parked, because there is a single reference code to work against and no second position to fall back on. Every catering uplift here follows the same sealed sequence from our kitchen to the apron, staged so the hi-loader is already positioned when the galley door opens. Nothing about the route changes with the mission: only the cart count and the cabin specification do.
Between our kitchen and the one stand at Limón sit screening, an escort and whatever apron movement the narrow-body traffic is running that hour, and we plan every catering uplift against the busiest version of that sequence rather than the easiest. Each cart is sealed before it leaves the flight kitchen, logged again at the galley door, and the chain of custody runs unbroken between the two readings. A coordinator signs the handover at MRLM, and that signature is what closes the galley catering record for the rotation, not a form filled in afterwards.
One seal at the kitchen, one signature at the galley door, nothing else in between.
Crew meals and pilot meals for Limón airport departures
Airline food supplier crews cleared for LIO
Airport catering for Limón is produced off-field and carried in under seal, with hot production, pastry, a cold larder and a protocol line held under one roof rather than split across sites. That single-site build matters most on a station with one runway and one stand: there is no second kitchen to fall back on if a rotation runs late, so the production plan is built around the reference code, not around a spare. Airport catering in Limón runs to HACCP throughout, logged at every stage between the larder and the sealed cart.
The team behind government flight catering at MRLM is the same named crew on every rotation into Limón, not a rotating pool assembled for the day. Security clearance is held on file for each of them, checked against the access list before a cart moves, and their training covers royal household standards as well as the paperwork a sealed uplift travels with. That continuity is what a protocol desk is actually buying when it books this station twice.
VIP flight catering and dietary sets at Limón (LIO)
VVIP catering written per mission at MRLM
Menus at Limón are written to the cabin and the mission first, then adapted to season, and inflight catering here draws on Costa Rica's own dairy, fish and orchard fruit where a cycle calls for local sourcing rather than an imported standard. The same specification file governs a scheduled turn, a charter and a VIP movement on this reference code, so switching mission does not mean switching kitchen or process. Allergen, halal, kosher and medical sets are documented per passenger and per cabin, labelled on the tray before it is sealed. Nothing on the cart leaves the kitchen without that label matched against the passenger list.
First & VVIP cabins
First and VVIP cabins at Limón are plated to a written specification, with à-la-carte service available on request rather than a fixed rotation of dishes. VIP flight catering here is filed against the standing order between movements, so a repeat rotation into MRLM starts from the same record, not a fresh brief.
Business cabins
Business cabins out of Limón run a multi-choice hot service in oven-ready formats sized to the galley fitted on the narrow-body frame, boxed in tray sets rather than plated individually. Crew meals, cabin crew meals and pilot meals are boxed separately to the duty roster, so the cockpit and cabin crew sets never share a tray with the passenger load.
Protocol & dietary
Household, religious and medical requirements at MRLM are documented per passenger rather than assumed from the manifest, covering halal and kosher sets and the full range of IATA special meal codes. Inflight catering for these sets is produced on a separate line at the kitchen and sealed before it joins the main uplift, so the dietary cart never crosses the general production.
The three books
01
Royal & Government Flights
Royal households · government · state operations
- Plated service · First to main cabin
- Protocol handling · security clearance
02
Charter & Commercial
Charter · ACMI · group · scheduled · ad hoc
- 400 passengers · one uplift
- HACCP cold chain, logged to the galley door
03
Private Jet
Business jet · VVIP charter · flight departments
- From 8 covers · plated forward
- Reheat sequence specified per dish
Compliance
HACCP-compliant aircraft catering at Limón, Costa Rica
HACCP
HACCP cold chain
Produced in our own certified kitchens, temperature logged end to end.
Clearance
Cleared personnel
Security-cleared staff, badged airside vehicles, escorted where the stand requires it.
Custody
Sealed chain of custody
Carts sealed at the kitchen, seals verified and handovers signed at the aircraft.
Allergens
Documented allergen sets
Allergen, halal, kosher and medical requirements documented per uplift and per passenger.
Flight catering airside delivery at MRLM / LIO
Limón runs on a single narrow-body reference code, which means scheduled turns, charter movements and the occasional government flight all work the same stand rather than separate ones sorted by traffic type. That concentration turns every rotation into a documentation and sequencing exercise rather than a capacity one: the risk here is two movements close together on one stand, not a wave of aircraft spread across a apron.
Uplift for airline catering at Limón travels the same measured route from our kitchen to the stand on every rotation, boarded by hi-loader to the galley door rather than left at the foot of the aircraft. In-flight catering and aviation catering in Costa Rica off this station run through one ops desk, so a diversion or a late change is worked from the same file as the scheduled plan, not a separate one.
What we commit to at MRLM is one coordinator named to the rotation, carts sealed at the kitchen, and a signed handover at the stand, the same record whether the movement is scheduled, ad hoc or airport catering booked at short notice.
Commercial aviation catering and VVIP missions at LIO
01
Government and state flight catering at Limón
On the single reference code held at Limón, a head of state movement works the same stand as the scheduled traffic around it, which is why the protocol file is built before the aircraft is on the ground rather than after. Government flight catering here runs on security-cleared staff and a protocol record documented per passenger, with the uplift sealed at the kitchen before it leaves for the stand.
Government & state flights →
02
Royal and VVIP flight catering at MRLM
Working one narrow-body stand at a time forces every royal or VVIP rotation into MRLM to be sequenced against whatever else is booked on the reference code that day, which is why the specification is fixed well before arrival. Royal flight catering here holds household standards across repeat movements, covering private airliners such as a BBJ or ACJ, with halal and household requirements produced on request.
Royal & VVIP flights →
03
Charter and ACMI flight catering at LIO
1,800 metres is the longest runway at Limón, and that length sets the narrow-body ceiling the station's charter traffic works within on its single stand. Charter flight catering at LIO covers ACMI and wet-lease operators, group movements and special missions with a full three-cabin uplift counted against the loading sheet, and charter flight catering at MRLM is staged in the order the galleys are laid out.
Wide-body charter →
04
Airline and ad hoc catering at Limón
A narrow-body frame is what the reference code at MRLM is built to take on its one stand, and that single stand is what makes ad hoc airline catering a scheduling question here rather than a capacity one. Carriers running Limón as an outstation get outstation catering and diversion catering off the same duty roster as technical stop catering, AOG included, with crew meals boarded on every multi-leg rotation through the field.
Commercial airlines →
05
Private jet and FBO catering at MRLM
We work the 1,800 metre runway at Limón as the limit that also governs business aviation on this field, since the GA traffic shares the reference code with everything else booked on the stand. Private jet catering at LIO is delivered to the FBOs on the field and the GA terminal, on the same cold chain and paperwork as an airline uplift, kept brief and separate from the commercial rotation it sits beside.
Private jets →
Airline catering services trusted at MRLM
Protocol officers on government flight catering at Limón airport
Government flight department
Royal household
Charter operator
Scheduled airline
“We arranged presidential flight catering at Limón (LIO/MRLM) for a sensitive movement. The team understood the need for confidentiality and kept the order organized despite late passenger and dietary changes. A professional service for movements where discretion matters. Responses were quick whenever we had a question, which helped us keep the flight on schedule.”
★★★★☆Scheduled airline
Aya — Airline Operations Manager
“I handled the cabin order for a flight from Limón (LIO/MRLM) and needed private airliner catering. The portions, packaging, and labeling worked well for the cabin, and the timing was spot on. Exactly the level of detail we expect for VIP flying. That made the turnaround easier for both the flight crew and the team on the ground.”
★★★★☆Private jet operator
Lisa — Executive Aviation Coordinator
“Our charter program used the service at Limón (LIO/MRLM) for hajj charter catering. The team handled the volume well and kept the boxes clearly identified by flight and service. Good coordination for a high-volume movement. The order was complete on arrival and easy for us to check before closing the doors.”
★★★★★Government flight department
Mateo — Delegation Travel Coordinator
Outstation catering data for Limón (MRLM / LIO)
| Datum | Value |
|---|---|
| Longest runway | 1,800 m |
| Runways | 1 |
| Aerodrome reference code | narrow-body |
| ICAO | MRLM |
Business jet catering questions at Limón (LIO)
Diversion catering and ramp questions at Limón (LIO)
What operations gets asked every week about Limón.
Ask operations directly →At what point are halal, kosher and special meal codes produced for flights out of Limón?
Halal, kosher and the full set of SPML codes are produced on a separate line at the kitchen before the general uplift is assembled, then documented per passenger and matched to the manifest before the cart is sealed.
Is there a published airline catering cost for flights through Limón?
The coordinator assigned to the rotation builds the quotation from the cabin count, the specification and the loading window rather than from a price list, since airline catering cost varies with all three on a single-stand station.
Who handles private jet catering delivery to the FBOs and the GA terminal at LIO?
Across the field, FBO catering and GA terminal delivery run on the same cold chain and the same sealed paperwork as an airline uplift, with one coordinator covering both sides of the stand.
How far in advance does MRLM need the order placed, and how late can the specification change?
The HACCP production schedule at the kitchen sets the standard lead time, and changes to the specification are accepted up to the loading window provided the cleared crew has time to reseal the affected carts.
Does Limón cater VIP, VVIP and government flights, and under what protocol?
Every VIP, VVIP and government rotation into Limón is handled by the same security-cleared crew, with the protocol file documented per passenger and the uplift sealed before it leaves the kitchen.
Inflight catering at other airports near Limón
CHX / MPCH
Changuinola
Panama · 79 km from Limón
Airline & VIP flight catering →
GPL / MRGP
Pococi
Costa Rica · 90 km from Limón
Airline & VIP flight catering →
BAI / MRBA
Punta Arenas
Costa Rica · 95 km from Limón
Airline & VIP flight catering →
Charter flight catering quote for MRLM / LIO
Request a quote
Send us your catering needs for LIO
Limón (LIO / MRLM)
Give us the aircraft and what goes on board. A coordinator comes back with a quote for Limón, not a brochure.
orders@aerogourmet.com · operations desk, 24/7
Four steps
Flight
Aircraft · stand · local time
Offloading
Return leg, if any
Order
Counts · menus · files
Contact
Who we come back to
Uplift at Limón (LIO)