La Aurora International Airport

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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 Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil.

La Aurora International Airport is going through massive modernization and expansion works. The airport now is 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 is was expanded by a new glass-designed concourse in the north, able to attend up to twenty-two aircraft. The greater part of the project has been completed in December 2008. Airlines operate from the 2 terminals the airport currently has.

On June 2007 the airport was certified as Category I by the FAA.[1]

[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 were equipped with jetway bridges and modern conveniences. 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, used for larger aircraft, provides 4-6 gates depending on the size of the aircraft.

Four car rental companies operate out of La Aurora: Avis, Budget, Hertz and National. There are money exchange offices, bars, restaurants, and shops. Restaurants include: Pollo Campero, & Cafe, McDonalds, Subway, Cafe Gitane, Cafe Barista, L'scala, Los Añejos Bar and Lounge, Cinnabon, Pizza Hut. The airport counts will tons of national crafts stores as well as modern duty free stores such as La Riviera, among lots of others. Other facilities include information kiosks and personnel, a post office, a pharmacy, hotel reservation stations, money exchage office, banks, and tourist offices. The airport levies a security fee (departure tax) of US$3 or Q20.00 Guatemalan quetzales on all departing travelers.

The airport's runway currently measures 3,000 meters. 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.

Cargo operations are handled beside the passenger terminal building by COMBEX-IM.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Main Building

[edit] North Concourse

The north Concourse has 12 gates and 3 remote gates.

[edit] Central Concourse

The central concourse has 6 gates, it operates with air bridges Style "E" that means they can support a Boeing 747, 777, 767, Airbus 340, 330, 300, etc.

[edit] New airlines and new routes

• Copa Airlines and Continental Airlines are waiting for the approval to open a Presidents Club. This would be the airlines' second Presidents Club in Latin America.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Private Hangars

[edit] Cargo airlines

[edit] Radio Frequencies

[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 Jan 1942-9 Mar 1943, (P-40 Warhawk)
• 74th Bombardment Squadron (40th, 6th Bombardment Groups), 9 Jan 1942-7 Apr 1944 (B-18 Bolo, B-17 Flying Fortress)
• 44th Bombardment Squadron (40th Bombardment Group) 6 Jul 1942-4 Jun 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 Jul 1949. Some artillery shells landed on the base during the violence. The facility was closed on 28 Jul 1949 and turned over to Guatemalan authorities.

[edit] External links

• Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil
• Airport information for MGGT at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
• Cargo services provided by COMBEX-IM

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