Augusto C. Sandino International Airport

Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (Template:Langx) Template:Airport codes, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.

History

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Las Mercedes was further upgraded, re-designed to handle Boeing 707 aircraft, and re-inaugurated in July 1968 by Anastasio Somoza Debayle.<ref name="BBC">Template:Cite news</ref>

In the early 1970s, Las Mercedes was expanded to more modern standards; this included four health inspectors, eight immigration officers, and ten customs inspectors.<ref name="EAAI">Template:Cite news</ref> It was considered fully equipped, having air conditioning, background music, loudspeakers, and conveyor belts for baggage handling.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="EAAI"/> 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.<ref>"Cultural" Template:Webarchive, El Nuevo Diario, February 19, 2000</ref>

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 Template:Convert from Managua's downtown, has a runway that measures Template:Convert in length, and is at an elevation of Template:Convert.<ref name="TI">Template:Cite news</ref>

Expansion

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 Template:Convert, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Operations

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.

Statistics

Traffic figures

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	Template:Decrease 6.96%	30,897	Template:Decrease 0.30%	19,223	Template:Increase 0.05%
2007	1,051,830	Template:Increase 7.38%	30,609	Template:Decrease 0.93%	21,727	Template:Increase13.03%
2008	1,138,626	Template:Increase 8.25%	31,705	Template:Increase 3.58%	19,129	Template:Decrease11.96%
2009	1,090,004	Template:Decrease 4.27%	31,677	Template:Decrease 0.09%	18,946	Template:Decrease 0.96%
2010	1,102,196	Template:Increase 1.12%	30,030	Template:Decrease 5.20%	25,981	Template:Increase37.13%
2011	1,120,147	Template:Increase 1.63%	28,855	Template:Decrease 3.91%	22,330	Template:Decrease14.05%
2012	1,201,141	Template:Increase 7.23%	30,697	Template:Increase 6.38%	23,531	Template:Increase 5.38%
2013	1,206,172	Template:Increase 0.42%	29,955	Template:Decrease 2.42%	22,281	Template:Decrease 5.41%
2014	1,311,965	Template:Increase 8.77%	29,326	Template:Decrease 2.10%	23,375	Template:Increase 4.91%
2015	1,499,756	Template:Increase14.31%	32,173	Template:Increase 9.71%	29,034	Template:Increase24.21%
2016	1,533,034	Template:Increase2.22%	36,822	Template:Increase 14.45%	25,383	Template:Decrease12.57%
2017	1,627,527	Template:Increase6.16%	36,510	Template:Decrease 0.85%	25,639	Template:Increase1.01%
Source: Nicaraguan Institute of Civil Aviation. Statistical Reports (Years 2007,<ref name="Anuario 2007">Anuario Estadistico 2007 Template:Webarchive. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil</ref> 2008,<ref name="Anuario 2008">Anuario Estadistico 2008 Template:Webarchive. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil</ref> 2009,<ref name="Anuario 2009">Anuario Estadistico 2009 Template:Webarchive. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil</ref> 2010,<ref name="Anuario 2010">Anuario Estadistico 2010 Template:Webarchive. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil</ref> 2011,<ref name="Anuario 2011">Anuario Estadistico 2011 Template:Webarchive. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil</ref> 2012,<ref name="Anuario 2012">Anuario Estadistico 2012 Template:Webarchive. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil</ref> 2013,<ref name="Anuario 2013">Anuario Estadistico 2013 Template:Webarchive. Instituto Nicaragüense de Aeronáutica Civil</ref> 2014,<ref name="Anuario 2014">Anuario Estadístico de Transporte de Nicaragua 2014 Template:Webarchive. Ministerio de Transporte e Infraestructura (MTI)</ref> 2015<ref name="Anuario 2015">Anuario Estadístico de Transporte de Nicaragua 2015 Template:Webarchive. Ministerio de Transporte e Infraestructura (MTI)</ref> and 2016<ref name="Anuario 2016">Anuario Estadístico de Transporte de Nicaragua 2016 Template:Webarchive. Ministerio de Transporte e Infraestructura (MTI)</ref>)

Top international destinations

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	Template:IncreaseTemplate:08.8%	Template:IncreaseTemplate:05.9%	American, avianca
2	Houston, United States	172,400	211,400	194,000	Template:IncreaseTemplate:022.6%	Template:DecreaseTemplate:08.2%	Spirit, United
3	Panama City, Panama	174,000	196,600	197,700	Template:IncreaseTemplate:013.0%	Template:IncreaseTemplate:01.1%	Copa
4	San Salvador, El Salvador	165,600	175,900	145,000	Template:IncreaseTemplate:06.2%	Template:DecreaseTemplate:030.9%	avianca, Volaris
5	San José, Costa Rica	78,500	79,900	100,000	Template:IncreaseTemplate:01.7%	Template:IncreaseTemplate:025.1%	avianca, Copa, Volaris
6	Atlanta, United States	87,100	96,500	97,000	Template:IncreaseTemplate:010.7%	Template:IncreaseTemplate:00.5%	Delta
7	Guatemala City, Guatemala	42,500	52,800	86,000	Template:IncreaseTemplate:024.2%	Template:IncreaseTemplate:062.9%	avianca, Copa
8	Mexico City, Mexico	3,500	45,700	52,000	Template:IncreaseTemplate:01,222.8%	Template:IncreaseTemplate:013.7%	Aeroméxico Connect
Source: Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI). Transportation Statistical Yearbook of Nicaragua (Years 2014,<ref name="Anuario 2014"/> 2015<ref name="Anuario 2015"/> and 2016<ref name="Anuario 2016"/>).

Traffic Share of Airlines flying to MGA

Airline	Percentage of Passengers Transported (2015)
Template:Flagicon Copa Airlines	31%
Template:Flagicon avianca El Salvador	20%
Template:Flagicon American Airlines	15%
Template:Flagicon United Airlines	14%
Template:Flagicon Delta Air Lines	7%
Template:Flagicon Spirit Airlines	6%
Template:Flagicon Aeroméxico	3%
Template:Flagicon Aero Caribbean	2%
Template:Flagicon La Costeña	1%
Template:Flagicon Conviasa	1%
Template:Flagicon Nature Air	1%
Total	100.0%

See also

• Template:Portal-inline
• Template:Portal-inline
• List of airports in Nicaragua
• Transport in Nicaragua