Narrative:

During international departure from mmsd (sjd); sjd clearance delivery; ground; and tower were all being conducted on frequency 118.9 by one air traffic controller; on one of the busiest (traffic) days I've seen at sjd; with landings and departures being conducted to runway 34. We started and taxied uneventfully (although radios were very congested) to runway 34 and were #3 to takeoff with several arrivals. While eventually holding short of runway 34 number 1 to go; company called for clearance; and tower replied for us to hold short of the runway. It was very obvious he was task-saturated and getting confused running three frequencies. As well; the controller reverted to spanish working some of the other local traffic at times. Another carrier then called for clearance and the tower controller finally pushed them to a separate clearance frequency. During all of this; as aircraft landed; the controller told each to bypass taxiway C (NOTAM'd closed) and clear at taxiway D. As we held #1; air carrier Y landed and rolled out on the runway; with another aircraft five to seven miles out; tower asked if we were ready to go; which we replied affirmatively. Tower then said; 'company # cleared for takeoff runway 34; do not delay; traffic on final.' my first officer replied; 'cleared for takeoff runway 34;' but as we took the runway; I noticed the previous air carrier Y had begun clearing at taxiway C (tower said something to him in spanish) and then turned back nose pointed west then back north on runway 34. I watched all this transpire and never pushed the power up to take off; but set the brakes; telling my first officer we weren't going anywhere until the runway was clear and we were re-cleared for takeoff. Once the runway was cleared by the previous carrier on taxiway D; and cleared for takeoff again by tower; we departed uneventfully. I'm not sure how close the traffic on final got; but once we were safely away from sjd and at altitude; I sent dispatch a message to forward to company ATC and safety personnel; and any follow-on company arrivals to make them aware of the ATC safety issues happening at sjd. Had the visual conditions been worse; a ground collision on takeoff would most certainly have resulted.our vigilance today; along with some good visual lighting conditions; probably prevented a very dangerous situation from happening (which I honestly believe any other company pilot would have also seen and prevented in the same circumstances). Sjd ATC was definitely in over their heads today and very task-saturated.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 flight crew reported they were cleared for takeoff with an aircraft still on the runway because MMSD ATC was overwhelmed with traffic with one Controller working three frequencies.

Narrative: During International departure from MMSD (SJD); SJD Clearance Delivery; Ground; and Tower were all being conducted on frequency 118.9 by one Air Traffic Controller; on one of the busiest (traffic) days I've seen at SJD; with landings and departures being conducted to Runway 34. We started and taxied uneventfully (although radios were very congested) to Runway 34 and were #3 to takeoff with several arrivals. While eventually holding short of Runway 34 number 1 to go; Company called for clearance; and Tower replied for us to hold short of the runway. It was very obvious he was task-saturated and getting confused running three frequencies. As well; the Controller reverted to Spanish working some of the other local traffic at times. Another carrier then called for clearance and the Tower Controller finally pushed them to a separate clearance frequency. During all of this; as aircraft landed; the Controller told each to bypass Taxiway C (NOTAM'd closed) and clear at Taxiway D. As we held #1; Air Carrier Y landed and rolled out on the runway; with another aircraft five to seven miles out; Tower asked if we were ready to go; which we replied affirmatively. Tower then said; 'Company # cleared for takeoff Runway 34; do not delay; traffic on final.' My FO replied; 'Cleared for takeoff Runway 34;' but as we took the runway; I noticed the previous Air Carrier Y had begun clearing at Taxiway C (Tower said something to him in Spanish) and then turned back nose pointed west then back north on Runway 34. I watched all this transpire and never pushed the power up to take off; but set the brakes; telling my FO we weren't going anywhere until the runway was clear and we were re-cleared for takeoff. Once the runway was cleared by the previous carrier on Taxiway D; and cleared for takeoff again by Tower; we departed uneventfully. I'm not sure how close the traffic on final got; but once we were safely away from SJD and at altitude; I sent Dispatch a message to forward to Company ATC and Safety personnel; and any follow-on Company arrivals to make them aware of the ATC safety issues happening at SJD. Had the visual conditions been worse; a Ground collision on takeoff would most certainly have resulted.Our vigilance today; along with some good visual lighting conditions; probably prevented a very dangerous situation from happening (which I honestly believe any other Company Pilot would have also seen and prevented in the same circumstances). SJD ATC was definitely in over their heads today and very task-saturated.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.