Augusto C. Sandino International Airport

Augusto C. Sandino International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Augusto C. Sandino
IATA: MGA – ICAO: MNMG MGA Location of airport in Nicaragua
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Owner	Republica de Nicaragua
Operator	EAAI (Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales)
Serves	Managua
Location	Managua, Nicaragua
Hub for	Avianca Nicaragua La Costeña
Elevation AMSL	59 m / 194 ft
Coordinates	12°08′29″N 086°10′05″W / 12.14139°N 86.16806°W
Website	http://www.eaai.com.ni
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10/28 2,442 8,012 Asphalt

Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Augusto C. Sandino) (IATA: MGA, ICAO: MNMG) or ACS is the main airport in Managua, Nicaragua. Named as Las Mercedes Airport in 1968 it was later renamed Augusto C. Sandino International Airport during the Sandinista regime 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 Sandinista regime.^[1]

The runway at the airport is 8,012 ft long, and it is located at an elevation of 194 feet. With 1.4 million passengers in 2013, ACS is currently the fifth busiest airport by passenger traffic in Central America and it also serves as a focus city for the Panamanian airline Copa Airlines. Augusto C. Sandino International Airport has direct scheduled service to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and South America.

History

Before ACS, there was the old Xolotlan Airport, about 2 miles east of Managua, built in 1915 which very soon became too small for Managua's airline service growth. Thus, on January 22, 1942, the Nicaraguan Government and Pan American Airways signed a contract to construct an airport by Las Mercedes Country Estate which inspired the name for Las Mercedes Airport.^[2] Las Mercedes was further upgraded, re-designed to handle Boeing 707 aircraft, and re-inaugurated on July 4, 1968 by Anastasio Somoza Debayle.^[3]

In the early 1970s, Las Mercedes was expanded to more modern standards, such as four health inspectors, eight immigration officers and ten customs inspectors.^[4] It was considered fully equipped, having air conditioning, background music, loudspeakers and conveyor belts for baggage handling.^[5] It also had a restaurant on its upper floor where visitors and travelers could see airport movement.

Lockheed L-188 Electra of TAN Airlines (Transportes Aéreos Nacionales S.A.) operating at Las Mercedes Airport, Managua, Nicaragua in 1970s

The expanded airport could serve three aircraft at once and by 1975 LANICA, the National Airline of Nicaragua, as well as many well known carriers Pan Am, KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), Taca Airlines, Sahsa, Avianca, Iberia, SAM, TAN, Varig, and smaller local 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, when, among other things, two new boarding bridges were installed.^[4] 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 many two large portraits of Augusto César Sandino, and Rubén Darío which they lay at the airports lobby.^[6]

Sculptures in the center of the waiting lobby.

Las Mercedes served for a very long time as a hub for Nicaragua's flag carriers Lanica (until 1978), Aeronica from 1979 to the 80's and NICA afterwards. 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 which measures 8,015 ft (2,443 m) in length and is at an elevation of 194 ft (59 m).^[7]

Embraer 190s, Airbus A300, Airbus A310, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus 340 Boeing 737s, Boeing 747s, Boeing 757s, Boeing 767s, Lockheed L-1011 TriStars and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s can land at the airport.

Expansion

American Airlines Boeing 737-800 just arrived at Managua. The aircraft arrived from Miami International Airport, one of Managua's busiest routes. American Airlines operates 23 flights per week to 2 destinations in the United States.

A large expansion programme was underway by 2003 and as of July 2006 the final phase was completed with 7 gates equipped 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 to date this projected has not begun, despite the government's great achievements in building new airports elsewhere in Nicaragua, or greatly overhauling existing airport/airfield infrastructure in other locations as well.^[8]

About 360 individuals are employed at the airport. Facilities within the 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.^[9]

Airlines and destinations

United Airlines Boeing 737-900 arriving from Houston-Intercontinental Airport.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A320 taxiing to take off to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Boeing 727 of Amerijet Cargo taxiing at the airport.

Airbus A320 of Spirit Airlines landing in Managua.

An Airbus A320 of TACA Airlines parked at Gate 4.

View of gates 3 and 4 with American Airlines and Spirit Airlines aircraft.

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal^1
Aero Caribbean	Havana, San Pedro Sula	I
Aeroméxico Connect	Mexico City	I
Air Transat	Seasonal: Montréal-Trudeau	I
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth,[10] Miami	I
Avianca	Miami, San José (CR), San Salvador, Guatemala City	I
Conviasa	Caracas	I
Copa Airlines	Guatemala City, Panama City, San José (CR)	I
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta Seasonal: Los Angeles[11]	I
La Costeña	Bluefields, Bonanza, Emerald Coast, Corn Island, Puerto Cabezas, San Juan de Nicaragua (Greytown), Ometepe, Rosita, San Carlos, Siuna, Waspan Charter: Montelimar Beach International: Tegucigalpa	D
Nature Air	San José (Costa Rica)	I
Spirit Airlines	Fort Lauderdale, Houston–Intercontinental	I
United Airlines	Houston-Intercontinental	I
Veca Airlines	San Salvador,	I

¹ D = Domestic Terminal, I = International Terminal.

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Amerijet International	Miami
UPS Airlines	Miami

Airline traffic departures and arrivals

Airline	Percentage of Passengers Transported (2015)
Copa Airlines	30%
Avianca El Salvador	20%
American Airlines	15%
United Airlines	14%
Delta Air Lines	7%
Spirit Airlines	6%
Aeromexico	3%
Aero Caribbean	2%
Avianca Nicaragua	1%
Conviasa	1%
Nature Air	1%
Veca	1%
Total	100.0%

Busiest routes

• weekly departing seats.

http://www.anna.aero/2015/03/04/managua-airport-grows-by-8-9-in-2014/

Rank	City	Passengers	Airlines
1	Miami, Florida	4,446	American Airlines, Avianca El Salvador
2	Houston, Texas	2,656	Spirit Airlines, United Airlines
3	San José de Costa Rica	2,595	Avianca Costa Rica, Copa Airlines, Nature Air.
4	Panama City, Panama	1,548	Copa Airlines
5	Guatemala City, Guatemala	1,548	Avianca Guatemala, Copa Airlines
6	San Salvador, El Salvador	1,356	Avianca El Salvaldor
7	Atlanta,Georgia	1,050	Delta Air Lines
8	Fort Lauderdale	890	Spirit Airlines
9	Mexico City, Mexico	456	Aeromexico
10	Los Angeles	TBD	Delta Air Lines
11	San Salvador, El Salvador	150	Veca
12	Toronto, Canada	1188	Air Canada

References

1. Velásquez SevillaMi, Mirna. "Aeropuerto vuelve a ser Sandino". La Prensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
2. "Aeropuerto Internacional "Augusto C. Sandino"" (PDF) (in Spanish). EAAI. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
3. Westcott, Kathryn (May 22, 2006). "Flying from where?; Cultural Heritage". BBC News. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
4. "History". EAAI. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
5. "Managua International Airport". Airplanes.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
6. "Cultural", El Nuevo Diario, 19 February 2000
7. "Technical Information". EAAI. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
8. "Projects in Progress". EAAI. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
9. "VIP Lounge". EAAI. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
10. "American Airlines Customers Gain More Access To Mexico, The Caribbean And Latin America With Six New Routes". Yahoo Finance. January 29, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
11. "Delta Air Lines Newsroom - News Archive". Retrieved June 4, 2015.