La Aurora International Airport Explained

La Aurora International Airport
Nativename:Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora
Iata:GUA
Icao:MGGT
Type:Military/Public
Owner:Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure, and Housing
Operator:General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics
City-Served:Guatemala City, Guatemala
Elevation-M:1509
Coordinates:14.5817°N -90.5267°W
Pushpin Map:Guatemala Guatemala#Guatemala
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Guatemala Department##Location in Guatemala
Pushpin Label:MGGT
Metric-Elev:yes
Metric-Rwy:yes
R1-Number:02/20
R1-Length-M:2987
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Stat-Year:2023
Stat1-Header:Total passengers
Stat1-Data:4,276,751
Footnotes:Source: Guatemalan AIP[1]

La Aurora International Airport (Spanish; Castilian: Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora,) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located 6.4km (04miles)[1] south of Guatemala City's center and 25km (16miles) from Antigua Guatemala. It is administered by the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics.

La Aurora International Airport is the primary airport of Guatemala. The airport went through a massive modernization and expansion. The airport is now able to accept a greater number of flights and larger aircraft. It provides high standard installations to the traveler. The old terminal has been renovated in accordance with its original design. It was partly demolished and was expanded with a new glass-designed concourse and is now able to accommodate up to twenty-two aircraft. The greater project was completed by December 2008. The airport currently has two terminals: Central and North.

The airport is the fourth-busiest in Central America in terms of passenger traffic behind Tocumen International Airport in Panamá, Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica, and the El Salvador International Airport.

Overview

La Aurora is being renovated, along with other airports in Guatemala, such as Mundo Maya International Airport, Quetzaltenango Airport, Puerto Barrios Airport, and San José Airport.

In July 2007, seven new gates were opened. These gates are equipped with jetway bridges and modern conveniences, also a new parking garage was also built and it can handle up to 500 vehicles.

There are brand new ticket counters. 2007 brought significant gate expansion (11 new gates were available starting December 2007). The airport now has two concourses. The northern concourse has 12 traditional gates and three remote gates. The central concourse, is used for larger aircraft as it provides 4–6 gates depending on the size of the aircraft.

The airport's runway currently measures 2987x.[1] There have been efforts in the past to expand the runway but this has not yet been possible since there is a commercial area to the north of the runway and a small ravine near the southern side of the runway. Still, the renovation of the runway is in progress. The first phase consists in repaving the runway as well modernizing the illumination system. Future plans to expand the taxiway repave and move all the cargo facilities to San José Airport in Escuintla and Puerto Barrios Airport in Izabal. This will make room for more passenger terminal area and improved taxiways. Finally, the airport administration building is being refurbished and a regional terminal is being built.

La Aurora International Airport has two exclusive VIP lounges: Los Añejos Business Lounge and Copa Club, a VIP lounge for passengers traveling on Copa Airlines and United Airlines.[2]

Cargo operations are handled beside the passenger terminal building by COMBEX-IM or in the DHL hangars.

The head office of the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics is located in the airport Zone 13.[3] [4]

China Airlines starts talks and negotiations with Guatemalan authorities Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (Guatemala) about the possibility of opening operation flights from Taipei-taoyuan, Northern Taiwan, Republic Of China and making La Aurora International Airport a Focus City for Flights from China into Central America.

History

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force defending the Central American coastline against Axis powers submarines. The first American personnel began arriving in December 1941; the airfield was improved and expanded by the United States' 805th Engineer Aviation Battalion in early 1942. During its period of American use, the military facilities of the airport were known as Guatemala City Air Base. Flying units assigned to the airport were:

Detachments from the airfield operated intermittently from San Jose Airport, San José, Costa Rica, and Puerto San José, Guatemala from 1942 though 1944. After the war ended, a small number of Americans remained at the airport performing training duties with the Guatemalan Air Force and also operating a weather station (MATS 6th Weather Squadron). United States personnel were restricted to base during the Guatemalan revolution following the death of Colonel Francisco Xavier Arana on 18 July 1949. Some artillery shells landed on the base during the violence. The facility was closed on 28 July 1949 and turned over to Guatemalan authorities.

In October 2004, Iberia introduced nonstop service to Madrid aboard Airbus A340s. The route resulted from the airline's decision to shut down its Miami hub, where passengers previously had to change planes.[5] [6] [7]

The airport was closed for six months in 2020, from March to September, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

Airlines and destinations

Cargo

Statistics

Passengers

Accidents and incidents

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MGGT – LA AURORA Internacional . 22 August 2011 . 4 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030058/http://www.cocesna.org/includes/tng/pub/tNG_download4.php?id=100&lng=0&KT_download1=b76fc0359c3ff35440b9ddaf7e987211 . dead .
  2. Web site: Copa Airlines VIP Presidents Club . 2011-10-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928095353/http://www.copaair.com/Sites/CC/es/Nuestros-productos/Pages/Presidents-Club.aspx . 28 September 2011 .
  3. "ADDRESSES OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION AUTHORITIES As of March 2010 ." Air Accident Investigation Bureau. Retrieved on 22 January 2012. "GUATEMALA Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil Aeropuerto Internacional "La Aurora" Zona 13 Guatemala, Centro América"
  4. "A 01/11 31 ENE ." General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics. Retrieved on 22 January 2012. "Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora 9 Av. 14–75 Zona 13 C.P. 1013"
  5. News: Española Iberia reanuda sus vuelos directos a Guatemala . La Nación . 3 October 2004 . ACAN-EFE . 25 November 2021 . Spanish . 22 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211122044512/https://www.nacion.com/economia/espanola-iberia-reanuda-sus-vuelos-directos-a-guatemala/FV3KJANA6NFUDCJMW3RHUCRAZM/story/.
  6. News: Iberia changes include boost in U.S. service . Travel Weekly . 12 January 2004 . 25 November 2021 . Kiesnoski, Kenneth.
  7. News: Iberia quits Miami as regional hub . Financial Times . 2004-07-05 . Done, Kevin . .
  8. News: Guatemala cumple seis meses de pandemia con la cifra más alta de muertes del istmo . Sep 13, 2020 . www.msn.com . EFE.
  9. Web site: Accident description . Aviation Safety Network . 24 July 2010.
  10. Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 767-2S1ER N767TA Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA). Ranter. Harro. aviation-safety.net. 2020-02-12.
  11. Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-8-54F N43UA Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA). Ranter. Harro. aviation-safety.net. 2020-02-12.
  12. Web site: ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 F-GTDI Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA). Ranter. Harro. aviation-safety.net. 2020-02-12.