Antonio Maceo Airport
Antonio Maceo Airport Aeropuerto Internacional de Santiago de Cuba | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | ECASA | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Santiago de Cuba | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 76 m / 249 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 19°58′12″N 075°50′08″W / 19.97000°N 75.83556°W | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
.svg)  MUCU Location in Cuba | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Aerodrome chart[1] | |||||||||||||||
Antonio Maceo Airport (IATA: SCU, ICAO: MUCU) is an international airport located in Santiago, Cuba.
Overview
The airport has a drawing of Che Guevara on one of its outside walls. Pope John Paul II flew to this airport during his last visit to Cuba, flying a round trip between here and José Martí International Airport in Havana. Likewise, Pope Benedict XVI, during the second papal visit to Cuba, flew here for Mass and other activities, from his visit to León and Guanajuato in Mexico, before moving on to Havana.
The airport is basically a turbo-prop centre. Nevertheless, jet aircraft also fly to this airport. Most commercial flights into SCU are domestic, but there are about twenty international flights each week; while these international flights are done mostly by domestic airlines, the international routes have nevertheless awakened the interest of some foreign airlines that might open flights into this airport in the future.
Airlines and destinations
Santiago de Cuba Base
The airport was home to the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces:
- 35th Transport Regiment - Antonov An-2 and Antonov An-26 transports
- 36th Helicopter Regiment - Mil Mi-8 and Mil Mi-24
The helipads are now part of the executive jet terminal on the north end of the airport.
Accidents and incidents
- On 2 October 1959, a Viscount of Cubana de Aviación was hijacked on a flight from Havana to Antonio Maceo Airport, Santiago de Cuba by three men demanding to be taken to the United States. The aircraft landed at the Miami International Airport.[2]
- On 4 November 2010, Aero Caribbean Flight 883, an ATR 72-212, crashed in the centre of the country with 68 people on board. The aircraft was flying from Santiago de Cuba to Havana when it went down. 28 foreigners were reported to be among the passengers. There were no survivors.[3][4]
References
- ^ Aerodrome chart Archived March 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Issued 27 September 2007
- ^ "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ BBC - Cuba passenger plane crash kills all 68 people on board
- ^ NY times - Cuban Plane Crash Kills 68 People
External links
Media related to Antonio Maceo Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Puerto Rico-Cuba flights resume after decades - dead link - and this never happened did it ?
- Departures
- Arrivals
