Las Américas International Airport

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Las Américas International Airport
Aeropuerto Internacional de Las Américas
MDSD-TerminalA&Bview.JPG
Las Américas Airport Terminals view. Copa, Air Pullmantur in Terminal A, and American in Terminal B
IATA: SDQICAO: MDSD
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Government
Operator Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI S.A. (Aerodom)with their international airport Operator, Vancouver Airport Services, Ltd. (YVRAS)
Serves Santo Domingo
Location Boca Chica in Greater Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Hub for Hub for PAWA Dominicana
Elevation AMSL 59 ft / 18 m
Coordinates 18°25′46″N 69°40′08″W / 18.42944°N 69.66889°W / 18.42944; -69.66889
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 11,002 3,355 Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Passengers 2,735,066
Source: Departamento Aeroportuario
"SDQ" redirects here. SDQ is also the former callsign of a TV station in Warwick, Queensland, Australia.

Las Américas International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas-JFPG) (IATA: SDQICAO: MDSD) is an international airport located in Punta Caucedo, near Santo Domingo and Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. The airport is run by Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (AERODOM), a Dominican Republic-based private corporation, with a 25-year concession to build, operate, and transfer (BOT) 6 airports in the Dominican Republic.

Recently, the expressway leading from Santo Domingo to the airport (roughly 20 km east of the city center) was expanded and modernised. The new expressway crosses a new suspension bridge which spans the Ozama River, connecting traffic into the city's Elevated Freeway and Tunnel system onto the city's main street, Av. 27 de Febrero. A more scenic route following the coastal shore provides beautiful views of the Caribbean Sea and of the city. This secondary road crosses the Ozama River by means of a floating bridge, connecting traffic onto the Av. George Washington (el Malecón) which leads into the heart of the colonial city.

The airport is the second busiest in the country, after Punta Cana International Airport, and one of the largest in the Caribbean, handling 2.7 million passengers in 2008[1] through its air terminal.

Contents

[edit] History

Las Américas Airport was opened in 1959[2] as the official airport of Santo Domingo.

The official name of the airport was changed in 2002 to "Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas- José Francisco Peña Gómez (AIJFPG)" but is most commonly referred to as "Las Américas International Airport", or locally, "Las Américas".

On February 15, 1970, a Dominicana de Aviación's DC-9 that was flying to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed, killing all 102 persons on board (see: Dominicana DC-9 air disaster).

Las Américas was the hub for Dominicana de Aviación, APA Dominicana International, Air Santo Domingo, and a number of other, smaller airlines. Currently, PAWA Dominicana and SAP Air are based there.

Las Américas also has served as a hub for airlines such as Aeromar Líneas Aéreas Dominicanas, Air Santo Domingo, Aero Continente Dominicana, and Queen Air.

[edit] The new Northern terminal

This new terminal is complete and open for operations. It can accommodate four Boeing 747s simultaneously. This new terminal has four gates with boarding bridges, an air-conditioning system, and maintenance facilities for aircraft.

[edit] Runway

Las Américas' runway direction is 17/35. This runway is the largest in the country, and one of the largest in the Caribbean, with a length of 3,355 m. It can support an Airbus A380.The runway of SDQ was last renovated in June 2008.The old taxi-way was also renovated and converted into a full blown runway.

[edit] Terminals, airlines and destinations

Northeastern airborne view of SDQ and its runway
American Eagle ATR at the airport

Las Américas has 6 gates on the main satellite concourse (A), A1 through A6, which have a shared use. In the same concourse there is an American Eagle gate, A7. Other gate facilities are for the flights departing from a parking in the taxiway. back in the 1960s and 70s the airport used to be much smaller, The original building was half the sides of today's newest struture but with a still modern look.

Concourse B has 4 gates, B1 through B4, and an American Eagle's gate B1A. Terminal B is the newest and most modern in the country.

The average number of daily flights out of ranges between 28 and 45. American Airlines is the largets airline operating at Las Américas.

Airlines Destinations Terminal
Aerocaribbean Santiago de Cuba A
Aerolíneas Mas Samana Domestic
Aeronaves Dominicanas Samaná, Santo Domingo-La Isabela Domestic
Air Caraïbes Cayenne, Fort-de-France, Havana, Pointe-à-Pitre A
Air Century Constanza, Santiago de los Caballeros Domestic
Air Europa Madrid A
Air France Fort de France, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Pointe-à-Pitre A
Air Transat Montreal-Trudeau A
American Airlines Boston, Miami, New York-JFK, San Juan B
American Eagle San Juan B
Aserca Airlines Aruba, Curaçao, Caracas, Maracaibo [seasonal], Punta Cana A
Avianca Bogotá A
Condor Flugdienst Frankfurt A
Continental Airlines Newark B
Copa Airlines Panama City B
Cubana de Aviación Havana B
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, New York-JFK A
Dutch Antilles Express Curaçao, St. Maarten A
Iberia Madrid A
Insel Air Curaçao, St Maarten A
JetBlue Airways Boston, Fort Lauderdale, New York-JFK, Orlando, San Juan B
Lacsa San José de Costa Rica B
Leeward Islands Air Transport Antigua, Tortola A
Martinair Amsterdam [Seasonal] B
PAWA Dominicana Aguadilla, Miami, Ponce, Port-au-Prince, San Juan B
PAWA Dominicana Santiago de los Caballeros, Punta Cana Domestic
Skyservice Toronto-Pearson [seasonal] A
Spirit Airlines Fort Lauderdale B
Sunwing Airlines Montreal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson [seasonal] A
TACA Perú Lima B
Thomson Airways Birmingham, London-Gatwick [seasonal] A
US Airways Philadelphia A
Venezolana Caracas A

[edit] Cargo airlines

Airlines Destinations
ABX Air San Juan, Miami, Fort Lauderdale
Amerijet Miami, Santiago de los Caballeros, Port-au-Prince, St. Maarten, San Juan, Cancún, Guatemala City, Fort Lauderdale, Dominica, Grenada, Curaçao, Barcelona (Venezuela), Caracas, Port of Spain, Aruba, Barbados, San Salvador, San Pedro Sula, Panama City
Amerijet operated by Caribe Trans Santiago de los Caballeros, Miami
Arrow Air Miami, Santiago de los Caballeros
Centurion Air Cargo Miami
Contract Air Cargo Aguadilla, San Juan, Ponce
DHL Aviation Memphis
FedEx Fort Lauderdale [seasonal]
Mountain Air Cargo Aguadilla
Roblex Aviation Nassau, Aguadilla, Fort de France
Tampa Cargo Cali, Medellin
Tradewinds Airlines New York-JFK
UPS Airlines Miami
Volga-Dnepr Madrid [seasonal]

[edit] Accidents and incidents

  • On April 20, 2008 Cubana de Aviacion flight 201, bound for La Havana, had to return to Las Americas, after reporting two of four engines were out of service, and one was on fire. The IL-62 landed without secondary problems into runway 17. All 117 passengers were without any injuries. The plane was in the air next day and landed La Habana with no problems as CUB201D.
  • On February 7, 2008 American Eagle flight 5111 had to make an emergency landing in La Romana International Airport after departing from Las Américas International Airport to Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport at 11:30 am. The captain said that he had some problems with the right engine, and as they were approaching the La Romana zone smoke began to spray into the cabin. The captain spoke to La Romana's control tower and obtained permission to make an emergency landing there. The aircraft was an ATR-72-500.

[edit] External links

[edit] References