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Augusto C. Sandino International Airport

Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Augusto C. Sandino) (IATA: MGA, ICAO: MNMG), or ACS, is the main joint civil-military public international airport in Managua, Nicaragua. It is named after Nicaraguan revolutionary Augusto Nicolás Sandino (1895–1934) and is located in the city's 6th ward, known locally as Distrito 6. Originally christened Las Mercedes Airport in 1968, it was later renamed Augusto C. Sandino International Airport during the Sandinista government in the 1980s and again in 2001 to Managua International Airport by then-president Arnoldo Alemán. Its name was changed once more in February 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega to honor the revolutionary.[3] Managua also has an alternative landing strip at Punta Huete Airport. Punta Huete was designed for larger aircraft and thus has a longer landing strip (3,000m vs. MGA's 2,442m). This alternative landing site, however, does not service commercial aircraft. The airport is managed by the state-run Administrative Company of International Airports, more commonly known as the EAAI, given its Spanish name, the Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales.

Augusto C. Sandino International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional Augusto C. Sandino
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
OwnerGovernment of Nicaragua
OperatorEAAI (Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales)
ServesManagua
LocationManagua, Nicaragua
Hub forLa Costeña
Focus city forConviasa
Elevation AMSL59 m / 194 ft
Coordinates12°08′29″N 086°10′05″W / 12.14139°N 86.16806°W / 12.14139; -86.16806
Websitewww.eaai.com.ni
Map
MGA is located in Nicaragua
MGA
MGA
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,442 8,012 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers1,627,527
Passenger change 16–17Increase6.2%
Aircraft movements36,510
Movements change 16–17Decrease0.8%
Source: Nicaraguan AIP,[1] MTI[2]

History

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Managua previous airport, Xolotlan Airport, which was located about 2 miles east of Managua, built in 1915, and it quickly became too small for Managua's airline service growth. In 1942, the Nicaraguan Government and Pan American Airways signed a contract to construct an airport by Las Mercedes Country Estate.[4] Las Mercedes was further upgraded, re-designed to handle Boeing 707 aircraft, and re-inaugurated in July 1968 by Anastasio Somoza Debayle.[5]

In the early 1970s, Las Mercedes was expanded to more modern standards; this included four health inspectors, eight immigration officers, and ten customs inspectors.[6] It was considered fully equipped, having air conditioning, background music, loudspeakers, and conveyor belts for baggage handling.[7] It also had a restaurant on its upper floor where visitors and travelers could see airport movement.

The expanded airport could serve three aircraft at once. By 1975, LANICA, Pan Am, KLM, TACA Airlines, Sahsa, Avianca, Iberia, SAM, TAN, Varig, and other carriers flew into Las Mercedes. When the Sandinistas took power, the airport was named after Augusto César Sandino, a Nicaraguan revolutionary and guerrilla leader, after whom the Sandinista movement is named. The Sandinistas, however, did not maintain the airport, and it began to deteriorate until it was expanded and remodeled in 1996, which installed two new boarding bridges.[6] The airport was renamed "Managua International Airport" in 2001 by then President Arnoldo Alemán and renamed again in 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega. In mid-2007, President Daniel Ortega renamed the airport in honor of Sandino. Nicaraguan artist Róger Pérez de la Rocha has created two large portraits of Augusto César Sandino and Rubén Darío; both of them lie in the lobby.[8]

Las Mercedes served as a hub for many of Nicaragua's flag carriers, such as LANICA (until 1978), Aeronica (1981–1992), and NICA (1992–2004). When NICA became a member of Grupo TACA during the 1990s, the number of important connections to the rest of Latin America from which ACS grew considerably.

According to EAAI (Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales), ACS is the most modern airport in Central America and the 4th safest in the world. It is located just 11 km (7 mi) from Managua's downtown, has a runway that measures 8,015 ft (2,443 m) in length, and is at an elevation of 194 ft (59 m).[9]

Expansion

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A large expansion program was underway by 2003, and as of July 2006, the final phase was completed. The airport was equipped with 7 gates with jetways and room for 20 airplanes to park. It had been reported in the recent past that the runway would be lengthened by 800 m (2,625 ft), but this project has not begun, despite the government's achievements in building new airports elsewhere in Nicaragua or greatly overhauling existing airport/airfield infrastructure in other locations as well.[10]

Facilities within the airport include a tourist information desk, bank, restaurants, bars, post office, souvenir shops, duty-free shops, lounge, and more. The types of services in the VIP lounge include checking baggage and documents with customs and immigration plus the airline; a bar service, snacks, etc.[11]

Operations

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Augusto C. Sandino International Airport is Nicaragua's main international gateway. Domestic flights fly between Bluefields, the Corn Islands, and Puerto Cabezas. The airport is accessed by the Panamerican Highway, known as the Carretera Norte.

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Aeroméxico Connect Mexico City
American Airlines Miami
Avianca El Salvador Miami, San Salvador
Conviasa Caracas, Havana
Copa Airlines Guatemala City, Panama City–Tocumen, San Jose (CR)[12]
La Costeña Bluefields, Corn Island, Puerto Cabezas[13]
Sansa Airlines San Jose (CR)
Spirit Airlines Fort Lauderdale
United Airlines Houston–Intercontinental

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
Amerijet InternationalMiami, Panama City–Tocumen, San Pedro Sula
UPS AirlinesMiami, Panama City–Tocumen, Tampa

Statistics

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Traffic figures

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Lockheed L-188 Electra of TAN Airlines (Transportes Aéreos Nacionales S.A.) operating at Las Mercedes Airport, Managua, Nicaragua in 1970s
 
American Airlines Boeing 737-800 taxiing for departure from Managua en route to Miami International Airport is one of the well-traveled routes from the airport.
Traffic by calendar year. Official Government Statistics
Passengers Change from previous year Aircraft operations Change from previous year Cargo
(metric tons)		 Change from previous year
2006 979,508 Decrease  6.96% 30,897 Decrease  0.30% 19,223 Increase  0.05%
2007 1,051,830 Increase  7.38% 30,609 Decrease  0.93% 21,727 Increase 13.03%
2008 1,138,626 Increase  8.25% 31,705 Increase  3.58% 19,129 Decrease 11.96%
2009 1,090,004 Decrease  4.27% 31,677 Decrease  0.09% 18,946 Decrease  0.96%
2010 1,102,196 Increase  1.12% 30,030 Decrease  5.20% 25,981 Increase 37.13%
2011 1,120,147 Increase  1.63% 28,855 Decrease  3.91% 22,330 Decrease 14.05%
2012 1,201,141 Increase  7.23% 30,697 Increase  6.38% 23,531 Increase  5.38%
2013 1,206,172 Increase  0.42% 29,955 Decrease  2.42% 22,281 Decrease  5.41%
2014 1,311,965 Increase  8.77% 29,326 Decrease  2.10% 23,375 Increase  4.91%
2015 1,499,756 Increase 14.31% 32,173 Increase  9.71% 29,034 Increase 24.21%
2016 1,533,034 Increase 2.22% 36,822 Increase  14.45% 25,383 Decrease 12.57%
2017 1,627,527 Increase 6.16% 36,510 Decrease  0.85% 25,639 Increase 1.01%
Source: Nicaraguan Institute of Civil Aviation. Statistical Reports
(Years 2007,[14] 2008,[15] 2009,[16] 2010,[17] 2011,[18] 2012,[19] 2013,[20] 2014,[21] 2015[22] and 2016[23])

Top international destinations

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Busiest international routes to and from MGA (Jan. 2014 – Dec. 2016)
Airport 2014 2015 2016 Δ 14–15 Δ 15–16 Carriers
1 Miami, United States 407,800 443,800 470,000 Increase 08.8% Increase 05.9% American, Avianca
2 Houston, United States 172,400 211,400 194,000 Increase 022.6% Decrease 08.2% Spirit, United
3 Panama City, Panama 174,000 196,600 197,700 Increase 013.0% Increase 01.1% Copa
4 San Salvador, El Salvador 165,600 175,900 145,000 Increase 06.2% Decrease 030.9% Avianca, Volaris
5 San José, Costa Rica 78,500 79,900 100,000 Increase 01.7% Increase 025.1% Avianca, Copa, Volaris
6 Atlanta, United States 87,100 96,500 97,000 Increase 010.7% Increase 00.5% Delta
7 Guatemala City, Guatemala 42,500 52,800 86,000 Increase 024.2% Increase 062.9% Avianca, Copa
8 Mexico City, Mexico 3,500 45,700 52,000 Increase 01,222.8% Increase 013.7% Aeroméxico Connect
Source: Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI). Transportation Statistical Yearbook of Nicaragua (Years 2014,[21] 2015[22] and 2016[23]).

Traffic Share of Airlines flying to MGA

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Airline Percentage of Passengers Transported (2015)
Panama  Copa Airlines 31%
El Salvador  Avianca El Salvador 20%
United States  American Airlines 15%
United States  United Airlines 14%
United States  Delta Air Lines 7%
United States  Spirit Airlines 6%
Mexico  Aeroméxico 3%
Cuba  Aero Caribbean 2%
Nicaragua  La Costeña 1%
Venezuela  Conviasa 1%
Costa Rica  Nature Air 1%
Total 100.0%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ (in Spanish)Publicación de Información Aeronáutica de la República de Nicaragua Archived November 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ (in Spanish) Anuario Estadístico de Transporte de Nicaragua 2016 Archived October 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Velásquez SevillaMi, Mirna. "Aeropuerto vuelve a ser Sandino". La Prensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  4. ^ "Aeropuerto Internacional "Augusto C. Sandino"" (PDF) (in Spanish). EAAI. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  5. ^ Westcott, Kathryn (May 22, 2006). "Flying from where?; Cultural Heritage". BBC News. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "History". EAAI. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  7. ^ "Managua International Airport". Airplanes.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  8. ^ "Cultural" Archived April 9, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, El Nuevo Diario, February 19, 2000
  9. ^ "Technical Information". EAAI. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  10. ^ "Projects in Progress". EAAI. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  11. ^ "VIP Lounge". EAAI. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  12. ^ "Vos TV".
  13. ^ "Destinations".
  14. ^ Anuario Estadistico 2007 Archived November 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil
  15. ^ Anuario Estadistico 2008 Archived November 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil
  16. ^ Anuario Estadistico 2009 Archived March 5, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil
  17. ^ Anuario Estadistico 2010 Archived November 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil
  18. ^ Anuario Estadistico 2011 Archived November 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil
  19. ^ Anuario Estadistico 2012 Archived November 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil
  20. ^ Anuario Estadistico 2013 Archived November 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil
  21. ^ a b Anuario Estadístico de Transporte de Nicaragua 2014 Archived August 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. Ministerio de Transporte e Infraestructura (MTI)
  22. ^ a b Anuario Estadístico de Transporte de Nicaragua 2015 Archived April 13, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. Ministerio de Transporte e Infraestructura (MTI)
  23. ^ a b Anuario Estadístico de Transporte de Nicaragua 2016 Archived October 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Ministerio de Transporte e Infraestructura (MTI)
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