Toncontín International Airport

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Toncontín International Airport

IATA: TGU – ICAO: MHTG
Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Operator Military of Honduras
Location Tegucigalpa
Elevation AMSL 3,294 ft / 1,004 m
Coordinates 14°03′39″N 087°13′02″W / 14.06083°N 87.21722°W / 14.06083; -87.21722
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
02/20 2,163 7,096 Asphalt

Toncontín International Airport (IATA: TGU, ICAO: MHTG) is a civil and military airport that serves Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It is 6 km away from the center of Tegucigalpa.

Contents

[edit] Toncontín

The airport's single runway is 1,863 m (6,112 feet) in length. Runway extension work is scheduled for completion in May 2009 when complete, it will add an additional 300 meters. The runway is at an altitude of 1,004 m (3,294 feet). Boeing 757s are the largest aircraft that can land at Toncontín, as it has one of the shortest international runways in the world. However, larger aircraft have landed in Toncontin such as a DC-8 from a mission of Orbis International in the 1980s (1987), [1] another large aircraft that had landed in Toncontin was a C-17 Globemaster in 2008.[2]

During the Football War of 1969, Toncontín was a major target for the Salvadoran Air Force, and it was bombed on several occasions. Toncontín International Airport has 4 gates (2 in the new terminal), 2 baggage claim belts, 150 short term parking spaces, a post office, a bank, a bureau de change, many restaurants, several airline lounges, a duty free shop, car rental services and a first aid room. The old terminal is undergoing renovation, and will be used for domestic flights in the future. The new terminal is now used for international flights.

Toncontín is also the home of the Aeroclub de Honduras.

This airport has received much criticism for being one of the most dangerous in the world[citation needed] due to its proximity to the mountains and for years efforts have been made to replace it with Soto Cano airport in Comayagua, currently an airbase. Toncontín has been improved significantly by the work of ACT (the Airport Corporation of Tegucigalpa) and by InterAirports, a company contracted by the Honduran government to administer the country's four major airports.

[edit] History

The Bristol Plane Piloted by Capitain Ivan Lamb, Toncontin, 1920

Since the nineteenth century, the plains south of Tegucigalpa became known as the "Potrero Los Llanos", part of a farm adjoining the farm Loarque. In these areas, important political events took place. Here Jose Santos Guardiola defeated General Trinidad Cabanas, seizing the presidency of Honduras. "El Llano" as it was known is to the south end of Comayagüela. On a road to the south, the field that served as the takeoff and landing aircraft is located. Currently, the Hernan Acosta Mejia (HAM) Air Force base is located there. The first landing was in 1921 when a single-engine plane from "Bristol Aeroplane Company" dark and green landed with Captain Dean Ivan Lamb in command. He was received by many people, including beautiful "Damita" society, as well as President Rafael López Gutiérrez who broke a bottle of champagne in one of the aircraft propellerss.

The origin of the name Toncontín is unknown, but experts say that is a word derived from the Aztec language "Tocotín", meaning the name of an ancient and sacred dance of Yucatan, Mexico. The Aviator Luigi Venditti conducted several flights using the natural floodplain from Toncontín until "Marina dining and facilities" of the company Esso.

Sahsa DC-3 in Front of Toncontin Old Terminal, 1945

Jose Villa, an Italian national, is another of the precursors of honduran aviation. He conducted flights from Toncontín. So did Starnaivola, Enrique Massi, Ball, and Clarence H. Brown. The latter was responsible for transporting the air in different planes as "Caudron" which were burned in the revolution of 1924.

The civil war in 1924 allows Tiburcio Carías to realize that aviation had a great future in Honduras. That it provided not only an ideal transport solution for a mountainous country, but also to function as a strategic military weapon. For these reasons and with the growth of commercial aviation and the emergence of the Air Force, General Tiburcio Carias, then in power, buy in 1933 18 blocks of land to the heirs of Mrs. Maria Bustillo Godoy and swap two hectares of land. The government paid 990.00 Pesos for clearing, drainage area, and changing the track now oriented north-south at the longest part of the plain that borders with "El Vacilon" north and south by the old terminal. On January 5, 1934 the airport was inaugurated with the landing of modern aircraft DC-3 from "Pan American World Airways." Months after "TACA" opened "HOTEL Toncontín" to accommodate passengers in transit and "Pan-Am" builds a hangar where today is the "ALAS OF HONDURAS".

[edit] Temporary Removal of International flights

On May 30, 2008 a serious runway accident, prompted the announcement by Honduran President Manuel Zelaya that all large aircraft operations would move to the Soto Cano Air Base. This move would effectively move all international traffic from Toncontin, limiting its use to only domestic flights and small aircraft. [3]

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) completed a review of Toncontin and made safety recommendations regarding the airport.[4] On June 25, 2008, President Zelaya reiterated his position of severely restricting international traffic to and from Toncontin and announced his intention to form a commission that will oversee implementing the safety recommendations of the ICAO report.[5]

On July 7, 2008, President Zelaya announced the reopening of the airport at a news conference following a three-hour meeting with businessmen, who had demanded commercial flights resume at Toncontin. Zelaya reiterated that all commercial flights will eventually use the new airport being built at Soto Cano Air Base and it was expected to be finished in 2009.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

An American Airlines Boeing 757 Landing at Toncontín Runway
Airlines Destinations
Aerolineas Sosa La Ceiba, Puerto Lempira, Roatán, San Pedro Sula
American Airlines Miami
Continental Airlines Houston-Intercontinental
Copa Airlines Panama City, San José de Costa Rica
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Isleña Airlines La Ceiba, San Pedro Sula
TACA Guatemala City, San José de Costa Rica, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador

[edit] Accidents and incidents

Airbus A320, Flight 390 from TACA

The accident that has claimed more lives and is not associated with the airport was October 21, 1989, when a Boeing 727-200 airliner crashed at a nearby hill, killing 133 people.[6] The accident was 42 kilometers (25 miles) away from the airport[3]. Because of this accident the airline SAHSA went into bankruptcy.

In 1982, a Douglas DC-9, was hijacked on a flight for the Venezuelan airline Aeropostal.The plane landed at Toncontin during the night and the kidnappers exchanged the passengers for fuel and left them in the terminal. The next day, another DC-9 collected the passengers.

On April 1, 1997, a U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane overshot the runway at Toncontin and rolled 200 yards before bursting into flames on a major boulevard, killing three people aboard.[7]

On May 26, 2007, a vulture crashed one of the wings of a Boeing 757 from American Airlines when it was reaching the airport elevation, leaving a large hole in the wing impacted but only scared the passengers of the plane. [8]

On May 30, 2008, an Airbus A320, Grupo TACA Flight 390 from San Salvador, overran the runway in approach to Tegucigalpa Airport.[6][7] The accident was partly blamed on bad weather conditions.[7] At least 5 fatalities have been confirmed.[6]. According to the recordings of the black box and a report from NTSB, the fault of the accident was a human error (the deceased pilot), who landed 900 mts (0.5 miles) beyond the landing marks and in the opposite direction (the tower ordered the other way).

[edit] Today on Toncontin

  • The Honduran government has announced plans to relocate commercial airline traffic to Soto Cano Air Base.
  • TACA airlines "Grupo TACA" could not operate in Toncontin and apparently the rest of the country's airports because of a state debt to Honduras, but on May 20, 2009; Taca said that the problems with Honduras were done.[9]
  • Personnel at the airport has finally decided to make use of masks and other measures to prevent the H1N1 since the number of cases has risen to 34 in the country and airports are the most vulnerable point of entry of the disease.[10]
  • A year into the crash of TACA at Toncontín airport, which killed five people, business owners near the site of the tragedy, they complain that have not been compensated.[11]
  • Honduras President Manuel Zelaya said that, Tegucigalpa, the capital of the country, will benefit from the construction of the Palmerola airport, while others claim that this is an attempt to close Toncontin.[12]
  • The direction of Civil Aeronautics of Honduras temporarily suspended the license of operations to "Islena Airlines" joined to the Taca El Salvador group, for a delay of about 37 million of lempiras, leaving in crisis the service of internal flights in the country.[13]
  • On July 5, 2009, the airport was closed to all flights and the airspace in and around Toncontin was very restricted due to the planned arrival of ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya. Mr. Zelaya's private Venezuelan jet was not given landing clearance by the Civil Aviations Authority at Toncontin and the military blocked the single runway with vehicles and troops. The plane was then diverted to Managua, Nicaragua[14].


[edit] See also

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toncontín International Airport

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.orbiscanada.ca/Default.aspx?cid=8111&lang=1 Flying Eye Hospital Past Destinations
  2. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rHe56CHAD0 (YouTube Video)
  3. ^ En sesenta días se habilitará Palmerola
  4. ^ [1] June 25, 2008.
  5. ^ [2]June 26, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c "7 dead after airliner overshoots Honduras runway". CNN. 30 May 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/05/30/honduras.crash.ap/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-31. 
  7. ^ a b c Cuevas, Freddy (30 May). "Passenger jet overshoots runway in Honduras". Yahoo. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/honduras_plane_crash. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  8. ^ http://www.catrachowings.com/foro/viewtopic.php?t=624 American Airlines Vs. Zopilote
  9. ^ http://www.heraldohn.com/País/Ediciones/2009/03/20/Noticias/Comunicado-de-Taca-sobre-mora-con-el-Estado Comunicado de Taca (Spanish)
  10. ^ http://www.latribuna.hn/news/45/ARTICLE/65387/2009-05-30.html (Spanish)
  11. ^ http://www.latribuna.hn/news/45/ARTICLE/65459/2009-05-31.html (Spanish)
  12. ^ http://www.elheraldo.hn/País/Ediciones/2009/05/20/Noticias/La-capital-de-Honduras-tendra-dos-aeropuertos (Spanish)
  13. ^ http://www.hondudiario.com/H/content/suspendido-permiso-línea-aérea-isleñ-del-grupo-taca (Spanish)
  14. ^ Zelaya's jet blocked in Honduras

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toncont%C3%ADn_International_Airport"
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