Twenty flights were rerouted over the weekend from San José’s International Airport (SJO) due to electrical problems.

Civil Aviation Officials concluded that a combination of old wiring and lightening affected the electrical cables along the airport runway, causing them to malfunction Friday. The airport was then closed again Saturday evening as technicians attempted to solve the problem.

For the next week officials said the airport would be closed from midnight until 3 a.m. while a provisional solution is put in place.

Aeris Holdings Director Rafael Mencía said it was likely the entire electrical system on the runway would be replaced next year when the runways are resurfaced.

Flights were rerouted to Liberia, in northern Costa Rica, and also to Nicaragua and Panama. An emergency lighting system is in place to aid in any future situations, and repairs are being made to the wires that suffered from the surges caused by lightening, said Enio Cubillo, director of Civil Aviation.

Mencia also explained that the airport’s power grid needs to be updated, as currently, when one part fails, it affects half of the electric supply. The renovations planned for next year will include segregating the facility’s power supply so that in the case of failure in one section, only 20 percent of the supply would be affected.

The Juan Santamaría Airport in Alajuela, 20 minutes north of San José, Costa Rica’s capital city, handles on average 72 international flights, 65 local flights, and eight cargo planes, per day according to Aeris.