Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (IATA: MGA, ICAO: MNMG), or ACS, is the main joint civil-military public international airport serving Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It is named after Nicaraguan revolutionary Augusto Nicolás Sandino (1895–1934) and is located in the city's 6th ward, known locally as Distrito 6.
Originally christened Las Mercedes Airport in 1968, it was later renamed Augusto C. Sandino International Airport during the Sandinista government in the 1980s and again in 2001 to Managua International Airport by then-president Arnoldo Alemán. Its name was changed once more in February 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega to honor the revolutionary.
Managua also has an alternative landing strip at Punta Huete Airport. Punta Huete was designed for larger aircraft and thus has a longer landing strip (3,000m vs. MGA's 2,442m). This alternative landing site, however, does not service commercial aircraft. The airport is managed by the state-run Administrative Company of International Airports, more commonly known as the EAAI, given its Spanish name, the Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales.
Contents
History
Managua's previous airport, Xolotlan Airport, which was located about 2 mi (3.2 km) east of Managua, built in 1915, and it quickly became too small for Managua's airline service growth. In 1942, the Nicaraguan Government and Pan American Airways signed a contract to construct an airport by Las Mercedes Country Estate. Las Mercedes was further upgraded, re-designed to handle Boeing 707 aircraft, and re-inaugurated in July 1968 by Anastasio Somoza Debayle.
In the early 1970s, Las Mercedes was expanded to more modern standards; this included four health inspectors, eight immigration officers, and ten customs inspectors. It was considered fully equipped, having air conditioning, background music, loudspeakers, and conveyor belts for baggage handling. It also had a restaurant on its upper floor where visitors and travelers could see airport movement.
The expanded airport could serve three aircraft at once. By 1975, LANICA, Pan Am, KLM, TACA Airlines, Sahsa, Avianca, Iberia, SAM, TAN, Varig, and other carriers flew into Las Mercedes. When the Sandinistas took power, the airport was named after Augusto César Sandino, a Nicaraguan revolutionary and guerrilla leader, after whom the Sandinista movement is named. The Sandinistas, however, did not maintain the airport, and it began to deteriorate until it was expanded and remodeled in 1996, which installed two new boarding bridges. The airport was renamed "Managua International Airport" in 2001 by then President Arnoldo Alemán and renamed again in 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega. In mid-2007, President Daniel Ortega renamed the airport in honor of Sandino. Nicaraguan artist Róger Pérez de la Rocha has created two large portraits of Augusto César Sandino and Rubén Darío; both of them lie in the lobby.
Las Mercedes served as a hub for many of Nicaragua's flag carriers, such as LANICA (until 1978), Aeronica (1981–1992), and NICA (1992–2004). When NICA became a member of Grupo TACA during the 1990s, the number of important connections to the rest of Latin America from which ACS grew considerably.
According to EAAI (Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales), ACS is the most modern airport in Central America and the 4th safest in the world. It is located just 11 km (7 mi) from Managua's downtown, has a runway that measures 8,015 ft (2,443 m) in length, and is at an elevation of 194 ft (59 m).
Expansion
A large expansion program was underway by 2003, and as of July 2006, the final phase was completed. The airport was equipped with 7 gates with jetways and room for 20 airplanes to park. It had been reported in the recent past that the runway would be lengthened by 800 m (2,625 ft), but this project has not begun, despite the government's achievements in building new airports elsewhere in Nicaragua or greatly overhauling existing airport/airfield infrastructure in other locations as well.
Facilities within the airport include a tourist information desk, bank, restaurants, bars, post office, souvenir shops, duty-free shops, lounge, and more. The types of services in the VIP lounge include checking baggage and documents with customs and immigration plus the airline; a bar service, snacks, etc.
Operations
Augusto C. Sandino International Airport is Nicaragua's main international gateway. Domestic flights fly between Bluefields, the Corn Islands, and Puerto Cabezas. The airport is accessed by the Panamerican Highway, known as the Carretera Norte.