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La Aurora International Airport

(Redirected from Guatemala City Air Base)

La Aurora International Airport (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT) serves Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala. It is located 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi; 3.5 nmi)[2] south of Guatemala City's center and 25 km (16 mi; 13 nmi) from Antigua Guatemala. It is administered by the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics.

La Aurora International Airport
Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
OwnerMinistry of Communications, Infrastructure, and Housing
OperatorGeneral Directorate of Civil Aeronautics
ServesGuatemala City, Guatemala
Hub for
Elevation AMSL1,509 m / 4,951 ft
Coordinates14°34′54″N 90°31′36″W / 14.58167°N 90.52667°W / 14.58167; -90.52667
Map
GUA/MGGT is located in Guatemala Department
GUA/MGGT
GUA/MGGT
GUA/MGGT is located in Guatemala
GUA/MGGT
GUA/MGGT
Location in Guatemala
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
02/20 2,987 9,800 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Total passengers4,919,850
Ranking1st
Employees250[1]
Source: Guatemalan AIP[2]

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

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The airport's runway currently measures 2,987 m × 60 m (9,800 ft × 197 ft).[2]

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.[3]

The head office of the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics is located in the airport Zone 13.[4][5]

History

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Original airport building, c. 1940

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.[6][7][8]

The airport was closed for six months in 2020, from March to September, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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Statistics

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Passengers

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Busiest routes from La Aurora International Airport (2024)[28]
Rank Airport Passengers Airlines
1 Los Angeles, California 501,486 Alaska Airlines, Avianca El Salvador, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Volaris Costa Rica
2 San José, Costa Rica 441,644 Avianca Costa Rica, Copa Airlines, Volaris Costa Rica
3 Panama City–Tocumen, Panama 416,332 Copa Airlines
4 Mexico City–Benito Juárez, Mexico 413,213 Aeroméxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Volaris Costa Rica, Volaris
5 San Salvador, El Salvador 368,894 Avianca El Salvador, Avianca Guatemala, TAG Airlines, Volaris El Salvador
6 Houston–Intercontinental, Texas 361,082 Spirit Airlines, United Airlines
7 Miami, Florida 357,686 American Airlines, Frontier Airlines
8 Flores, Petén 350,797 Avianca Guatemala, TAG Airlines
9 New York–JFK, New York 186,030 Avianca El Salvador, JetBlue
10 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 185,889 Spirit Airlines

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 1 March 1980, a Douglas C-47 of the Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca was damaged beyond repair near La Aurora.[29]
  • On 6 April 1993, TACA Airlines Flight 510, a Boeing 767, ran off the end of Runway 19 (now Runway 20) after landing. A passenger on board filmed the landing, which showed 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, the captain made a last second decision to steer the airplane to the left of the runway (avoiding a big ditch at the end of the runway), went down an embankment and stopped into some structures. Surprisingly, there were no fatalities and the only injured people were three non-passengers. The aircraft was written off.[30]
  • On 28 April 1995, Faucett Flight 705, a Douglas DC-8 leased by Million Air, overshot the runway and crashed into several houses. All three crew members onboard survived, but six people on the ground were killed.[31]
  • On 21 December 1999, Cubana de Aviación Flight 1216, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (leased to Cubana by AOM French Airlines) overshot runway 19 during landing and crashed into a residential area. 16 of the 314 people on board were killed, along with two people on the ground.[32]

References

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ↑ "Fiscalía contra la corrupción realiza operativo en aeropuerto La Aurora". República.
  2. 1 2 3 "Estadísticas Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora". Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (in Spanish). February 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  3. ↑ "Copa Airlines VIP Presidents Club". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  4. ↑ "ADDRESSES OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION AUTHORITIES As of March 2010". Air Accident Investigation Bureau. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2012. GUATEMALA Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil Aeropuerto Internacional "La Aurora" Zona 13 Guatemala, Centro América
  5. ↑ "A 01/11 31 ENE" (PDF). General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2012. Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora 9 Av. 14–75 Zona 13 C.P. 1013
  6. ↑ "Española Iberia reanuda sus vuelos directos a Guatemala". La Nación (in Spanish). ACAN-EFE. 3 October 2004. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  7. ↑ Kiesnoski, Kenneth (12 January 2004). "Iberia changes include boost in U.S. service". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Done, Kevin (5 July 2004). "Iberia quits Miami as regional hub". Financial Times. ProQuest 249510408.
  9. ↑ "Guatemala cumple seis meses de pandemia con la cifra más alta de muertes del istmo". www.msn.com. EFE. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  10. ↑ Villamizar, Helwing (5 May 2025). "Air Canada Announces Major Winter Latin America Expansion". Airways. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  11. ↑ "American Airlines flights to Guatemala City". American Airlines. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "United States, Costa Rica, Guatemala: New American Airlines Expansion at Chicago O'Hare Enhances International Tourism Connections". Travel and Tour World. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  13. ↑ "Avianca Expands Business Class Service to Over 80 International Routes Across the Americas". Newsinamerica.com. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  14. ↑ Lassetter, Jon (5 September 2023). "New Route of the Day – Americas (1 September 2023): Avianca between Guatemala City and Cancun". Air Service One. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  15. ↑ "Avianca Boosts Cross-Border Connectivity with Seasonal Direct Air Service Linking Guatemala City to San Francisco". Travel And Tour World. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "BermudAir Announces Major Expansion to Turks and Caicos, Belize, Anguilla, Bermuda and Guatemala City". EIN News Desk. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  17. ↑ Price, Stepheny (10 August 2025). "Delta plane clips empty aircraft during pushback at Atlanta airport causing passenger delays". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Frontier Airlines announces new non-stop flights from Atlanta to multiple cities". WSB-TV. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  19. ↑ Smith, Maci (20 December 2025). "Frontier Airlines offering two new international flight from DFW Airport". WFAA. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  20. ↑ Warren, Peter (19 December 2025). "Frontier Airlines adds three new routes to Central America from IAH". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  21. ↑ Bridges, C. A. (4 September 2025). "Frontier adds Latin America, Carribean routes to these Florida airports starting at $49". Florida Today. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "JetBlue Enhances Summer Travel with New Routes and Destinations, Strengthening its East Coast Network". Business Wire. 15 January 2025.
  23. ↑ Bondarenko, Veronika (16 January 2025). "Major discount airline makes huge bet on new destinations". Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  24. ↑ "United adding flights from Chicago to warm-weather locales this fall". Chicago Tribune. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  25. ↑ Casey, David (5 September 2025). "United Bolsters Schedule In Key Spirit Markets, Adds Israel Service". Aviation Week. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  26. ↑ Klint, Matthew (28 September 2021). "Review: United Airlines 737-800 Business Class To Guatemala City". Live and Let's Fly. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  27. 1 2 Shek, Winston (5 September 2021). "United Airlines Adds Three New Routes to Latin America, Caribbean". Airline Geeks. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  28. ↑ "Estadísticas Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora". DGAC (in Spanish). 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  29. ↑ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  30. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 767-2S1ER N767TA Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  31. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-8-54F N43UA Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  32. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 F-GTDI Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
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