La Aurora International Airport
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| La Aurora International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| part of the airport's frontal exterior | |||
IATA: GUA – ICAO: MGGT  GUA | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Joint | ||
| Owner | Ministerio de Comunicaciones, Infraestructura y Vivienda | ||
| Operator | Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil | ||
| Serves | Guatemala City | ||
| Location | Guatemala City,Guatemala | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,611 m / 5,286 ft | ||
| Coordinates | 14°34′59″N90°31′38″W | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 01/19 | 3,000 | 9,800 | Asphalt |
| Currently under renovations | |||
La Aurora International Airport (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located 6 km south of Guatemala City's center and 25 km from Antigua. It is administered by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil.
La Aurora International Airport is going through massive modernization and expansion works. The airport is now able to accept a greater number of flights and larger aircraft. It provides high standard installations to the traveller. The old terminal has been renovated in accordance with its original design. It has been partly demolished and was expanded with a new glass-designed concourse in the north, able to accommodate up to twenty-two aircraft. The greater part of the project was completed by December 2008. The airport currently has two terminals: Central and North.
La Aurora International Airport is the third busiest airport in Central America in terms of passenger traffic, surpassed only by Tocumen International Airport in Panamá and Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica. In June 2007 the airport was certified as Category I by the FAA.[4]
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Infrastructure and news
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 3 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 3,000 meters in length. There have been efforts in the past to expand the runway but this has not yet been possible since there's 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.
Cargo operations are handled beside the passenger terminal building by COMBEX-IM or in the DHL hangars. [1]
[edit]Airlines and destinations
Airlines | Destinations | Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| AeroMéxico | Mexico City [resumes July 4][2] | Pending |
| American Airlines | Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami | North |
| Continental Airlines | Houston-Intercontinental, Newark | North |
| Copa Airlines | Managua, Panama City, San José de Costa Rica | Central & North |
| Copa Airlines operated byCopa Airlines Colombia | Bogotá, Panama City, San José de Costa Rica | Central |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta, Los Angeles | Central |
| Iberia | Madrid, San Salvador | Central |
| Interjet | Mexico City [begins July 1][3] | Pending |
| Spirit Airlines | Fort Lauderdale | Central |
| TACA Airlines | Cancún, Chicago-O'Hare, Flores, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Orlando, San José de Costa Rica, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador, Tegucigalpa | North |
| TAG | Flores | Remote |
[edit]Cargo airlines
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| ABX Air | Guadalajara, Huatulco, Miami, Ohio, San Jose de Costa Rica |
| Aero Ruta Maya | Tikal, Copán, Palenque, Quirigua, Roatan |
| Amerijet International | Miami |
| DHL / DHL Aero Expreso | Miami, Panama City |
| DHL De Guatemala | San José (CR), Mexico City, Miami, Panama City, San Salvador, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa |
| FedEx Express | Memphis |
| Florida West International Airways | Miami |
| LAN Cargo | Miami |
| MasAir | Mexico City |
| UPS | Atlanta, Miami |
[edit]Traffic statistics
| Rank | City | Passengers | Top Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Miami, USA | 233,840 | American Airlines, Taca |
| 2 | Houston, USA | 198,480 | Continental Airlines |
| 3 |  Panama City, Panama | 183,060 | Copa Airlines |
| 4 | Los Angeles, USA | 175,600 | Delta Air Lines, Taca/Lacsa |
| 5 |  Mexico City, Mexico | 164,420 | Mexicana, Lacsa |
| 6 |  San Jose, Costa Rica | 160,260 | Aerorepublica, Copa Airlines, Taca, Lacsa |
| 7 |  San Salvador, El Salvador | 159,220 | Taca, Lacsa |
| 8 |  Madrid, Spain | 108,180 | Iberia |
| 9 | Atlanta, USA | 102,800 | Delta Air Lines |
| 10 |  Managua, Nicaragua | 99,160 | Copa Airlines, Taca |
| 11 |  Flores, Peten | 81,960 | Aviateca, TAG |
| 12 | Dallas, USA | 80,980 | American Airlines |
| 13 | Chicago, USA | 76,905 | Taca |
| 14 | Cancun, Mexico | 61,756 | Mexicana Link, Aviateca |
| 15 |  Tegucigalpa, Honduras | 55,480 | Aviateca, Isleña |
[edit]Radio frequencies
| Facility | MHz |
|---|---|
| Ground Control | 121.90 |
| Tower Control | 118.10 |
| Aurora Approach | 119.30 |
| Clearance Delivery | 120.70 |
| ATIS | 126.50 |
| Guatemala Radio | 126.90 |
[edit]History of La Aurora
[edit]World War II
During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Force Sixth Air Force defending the Central American coastline against Axis powers submarines. The first American personnel began arriving in December 1941. 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:
- 51st Fighter Squadron (Detachment) (32d Fighter Group), 2 January 1942-9 March 1943, (P-40 Warhawk)
- 74th Bombardment Squadron (40th, 6th Bombardment Groups), 9 January 1942-7 April 1944 (B-18 Bolo, B-17 Flying Fortress)
- 44th Bombardment Squadron (40th Bombardment Group) 6 July 1942-4 June 1943, (B-18 Bolo)
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 assassination 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.
[edit]Airport gallery
[edit]Accidents and incidents
On 1 March 1980, a Douglas C-47 of the Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca was damaged beyond repair near La Aurora.[4]
On 6 April 1993 a TACA International Airlines Boeing 767 ran off the end of Runway 19 after landing. A passenger on board filmed the landing which showed the plane coming in too steep, too fast and on a runway with standing water from a tropical storm which had just passed over. A great amount of runway had passed under the plane before touchdown and the pilot forced the landing. In spite of thrust reversers used, the plane could not slow down in time, began to shudder from excessive wheel-braking, overshot the runway and crashed into some structures. Surprisingly, there were no fatalities and the only injured people were 3 non-passengers. The aircraft was written off[5]
