Managua International Airport
Encyclopedia
Augusto C. Sandino International Airport is the main airport
in Managua
, Nicaragua
. Inaugurated as Las Mercedes Airport in 1968 it was later renamed Augusto C. Sandino International Airport during the Sandinista
regime in 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
in honor of Nicaragua's national hero, Augusto César Sandino
.
The runway at the airport is 8,015 feet long, and has an elevation of 194 feet. With 1.1 million passengers per year, Augusto C. Sandino International Airport is currently the fifth busiest airport by passenger traffic in Central America
. The airport also serves as a focus city for the Panama
nian airline Copa Airlines
.
. Las Mercedes was designed to be able to be used by Boeing 707
aircraft.
In the early 1970s, Las Mercedes was expanded to more modern standards, with four health
inspectors, eight immigration
officers and ten customs inspectors. It was fully equipped with air conditioning
, background music
, loudspeakers and conveyor belt
s for baggage handling. It also had a restaurant on its upper floor where visitors and travelers could see airport movement.
This expanded airport could serve three aircraft
at once, and by 1975, Pan Am
and Iberia
, Lanica Airlines, the Airline of Nicaragua as well as other, smaller local carriers, flew into Las Mercedes. When the Sandinistas took power, the airport was named after Augusto César Sandino
, a Sandinista guerrilla
leader. The Sandinistas however did not maintain the airport, and it began to deteriorate, until it was expanded and remodeled in 1996, when, among other things, two new boarding bridges were installed. The airport was renamed "Managua International Airport" in 2001 and renamed again in 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega
.
The airport has served for a very long time as a hub for Nicaragua's flag carrier, NICA. When NICA became a member of Grupo TACA
during the 1990s, the number of important connections to the rest of Latin America
from the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport grew considerably.
The Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, managed by EAAI, is considered one of the best and most modern airports in Central America
. This airport, located just 11 km (7 mi) from the city of Managua has a runway which measures 8015 ft (2,443 m) in length and is at an elevation of 194 ft (59 m).
Embraer 190s, Airbus A300
, Airbus A310
, Airbus A330
, Boeing 737
s, Boeing 747
s, Boeing 757
s, Boeing 767
s, Lockheed L-1011 Tristars and McDonnell Douglas DC-10
s can land at the airport.
A large expansion programme was underway by 2003 and as of July 2006 the final phase was completed with 15 gates equipped with jetway
s. Currently the runway is also undergoing an addition of 800 m (2,625 ft).
Plus-minus 360 individuals are employed at the airport. Facilities within Augusto C. Sandino International Airport include a tourist information desk, bank, restaurants, bars, post office, souvenir shops, duty free shops, lounges and more. To make use of the VIP lounge there are five rate options: Normal, Corporate, Affiliated Credit Cards, Minors and Infants. 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.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. Inaugurated as Las Mercedes Airport in 1968 it was later renamed Augusto C. Sandino International Airport during the Sandinista
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
regime in 1980s and again in 2001 to Managua International Airport by then president Arnoldo Alemán
Arnoldo Alemán
José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo was the 81st President of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002.-Biography:Alemán was born in Managua and received his early education at the La Salle institute in Managua...
. Its name was changed once more in February 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
in honor of Nicaragua's national hero, Augusto César Sandino
Augusto César Sandino
Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion against the U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933...
.
The runway at the airport is 8,015 feet long, and has an elevation of 194 feet. With 1.1 million passengers per year, Augusto C. Sandino International Airport is currently the fifth busiest airport by passenger traffic in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. The airport also serves as a focus city for the Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian airline Copa Airlines
Copa Airlines
Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., operating as Copa Airlines ', is an airline based in Panama City, Panama, and serves as Panama's flag carrier...
.
History
On January 22, 1942, the Government of Nicaragua and Pan American Airways signed a contract to construct an airport under the name of Las Mercedes Airport. After the construction was finished the airport was inaugurated on July 4, 1968 by Anastasio Somoza DebayleAnastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...
. Las Mercedes was designed to be able to be used by Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
aircraft.
In the early 1970s, Las Mercedes was expanded to more modern standards, with four health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
inspectors, eight immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
officers and ten customs inspectors. It was fully equipped with air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
, background music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, loudspeakers and conveyor belt
Conveyor belt
A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
s for baggage handling. It also had a restaurant on its upper floor where visitors and travelers could see airport movement.
This expanded airport could serve three aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
at once, and by 1975, Pan Am
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
and Iberia
Iberia Airlines
Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., commonly known as Iberia, is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main bases of Madrid-Barajas Airport and Barcelona El Prat Airport....
, Lanica Airlines, the Airline of Nicaragua as well as other, smaller local carriers, flew into Las Mercedes. When the Sandinistas took power, the airport was named after Augusto César Sandino
Augusto César Sandino
Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion against the U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933...
, a Sandinista guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
leader. The Sandinistas however did not maintain the airport, and it began to deteriorate, until it was expanded and remodeled in 1996, when, among other things, two new boarding bridges were installed. The airport was renamed "Managua International Airport" in 2001 and renamed again in 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
.
Grupo TACA
TACA is the trade name "brand" comprising a group of five independently IATA-coded and -owned Central American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one and a number of other independently owned and IATA-coded regional airlines which code-share and feed the TACA brand system...
during the 1990s, the number of important connections to the rest of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
from the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport grew considerably.
The Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, managed by EAAI, is considered one of the best and most modern airports in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. This airport, located just 11 km (7 mi) from the city of Managua has a runway which measures 8015 ft (2,443 m) in length and is at an elevation of 194 ft (59 m).
Embraer 190s, Airbus A300
Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS...
, Airbus A310
Airbus A310
The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of...
, Airbus A330
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....
, Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
s, Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
s, Boeing 757
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...
s, Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
s, Lockheed L-1011 Tristars and McDonnell Douglas DC-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...
s can land at the airport.
A large expansion programme was underway by 2003 and as of July 2006 the final phase was completed with 15 gates equipped with jetway
Jetway
A jet bridge is an enclosed, movable connector which extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, allowing passengers to board and disembark without having to go outside...
s. Currently the runway is also undergoing an addition of 800 m (2,625 ft).
Plus-minus 360 individuals are employed at the airport. Facilities within Augusto C. Sandino International Airport include a tourist information desk, bank, restaurants, bars, post office, souvenir shops, duty free shops, lounges and more. To make use of the VIP lounge there are five rate options: Normal, Corporate, Affiliated Credit Cards, Minors and Infants. 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.
Airlines and destinations
Incidents and accidents
- On March 5, 1959, Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
YS-09C of TACA International AirlinesGrupo TACATACA is the trade name "brand" comprising a group of five independently IATA-coded and -owned Central American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one and a number of other independently owned and IATA-coded regional airlines which code-share and feed the TACA brand system...
crashed shortly after take-off from Managua Airport when both port engines failed. Fifteen of the 19 people on board were killed.
- On 15 February 1974, a Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
of APSA was damaged beyond economic repair when it crash-landed at Managua Airport.
- On June 5, 2006 a McDonnell Douglas DC10-10F (registered N68047) en route Miami - ManaguaManaguaManagua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
touched down hard at Managua and was unable to stop before the end of the runway. The aircraft overran by about 300 meters, the nose gear collapsed causing substantial damage to the engines as well as a possible fuel rupture in the wing.
- On July 24, 2007 a Boeing 737-700Boeing 737The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
, Continental flight 876, with 120 passengers and a crew of 6 flying from Panama City to Houston had to land in the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport because one of the internal security windows suffered a rupture.
- On November 19, 2011 an Airbus A340Airbus A340The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...
of the airline IberiaIberia AirlinesIberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., commonly known as Iberia, is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main bases of Madrid-Barajas Airport and Barcelona El Prat Airport....
, en route MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
- San Jose de Costa Rica had to divert to Managua due to bad weather in San Jose de Costa Rica, the airplane landed safely and the San Jose airport was closed. The plane would leave Managua the next day at 1:00PM local time.