Las Américas International Airport
Las Américas International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Civil aviation | ||||||||||
| Owner | Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI S.A. | ||||||||||
| Serves | Santo Domingo | ||||||||||
| Location | Punta Caucedo, Dominican Republic | ||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||
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| Elevation AMSL | 58 ft / 18 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 18°25′46″N 069°40′08″W / 18.42944°N 69.66889°WCoordinates: 18°25′46″N 069°40′08″W / 18.42944°N 69.66889°W | ||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  MDSD Location of airport in Dominican Republic | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2020) | |||||||||||
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Las Américas International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas, or AILA) (IATA: SDQ, ICAO: 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 private corporation based in the Dominican Republic, under a 25-year concession to build, operate, and transfer (BOT) six of the country's airports. Las Américas usually receives a wide variety of long-, mid- and short-haul aircraft. Santo Domingo's other airport, La Isabela, is much smaller and used by light aircraft only.
The airport is the second-busiest in the country, after Punta Cana International Airport, and one of the largest in the Caribbean, handling 3.5 million passengers in 2015.[1] It is also the busiest cargo hub in the Caribbean and Central America, with 355,000,000 lbs of cargo transported in 2019.
History[]
Las Américas Airport opened in 1959 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 known as "Las Américas International Airport", or locally, "Las Américas Airport" or "El Aeropuerto".
Las Américas was the hub for Dominicana de Aviación, APA Dominicana International, PAWA Dominicana, and a number of other, smaller airlines. Currently SAP Air is based there.
Las Américas also has served as a hub for airlines such as Aeromar Líneas Aéreas Dominicanas, Aero Continente Dominicana and Queen Air.
Recently, the expressway leading from Santo Domingo to the airport (roughly 20 km east of the city center) was expanded and modernised. The airport was also modernised, and two more terminals were added, including 20 more gates. 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.
Addition of northern terminal[]
On 18 April 2007, a new terminal was completed and opened 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.[citation needed]
Runway[]
Las Américas Airport's runway direction is north–south (designated 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 is able to support a Boeing 747. The runway of SDQ was last renovated in June 2008. The old taxi-way was also renovated and converted into a full runway while the old runway was being renovated, then it was converted back into a taxiway after the normal runway was finished. The runway accommodated the Antonov An-225 to supply goods after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[2][3]
Concourses[]
Las Américas has five gates on the main satellite concourse (A), A2 through A6. 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 size of today's newest structure but with a still modern look.
Concourse B has four gates (B1 through B4) and remote stand (P8). Terminal B now features a co-branded Copa Club operated jointly by United Airlines and Copa Airlines, and a Private Lounge exclusive to members and business people.
The average number of daily flights in and out of Las Américas ranges between 68 and 84 flights. JetBlue is the largest airline operating at Las Américas.
Airlines and destinations[]
Passenger[]
Cargo[]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Amerijet International | San Juan, Miami, Port-au-Prince |
| Avianca Cargo | Bogota, Medellin |
| UPS Airlines | Miami, Louisville |
| FedEx | Miami, Memphis |
Statistics[]
See source Wikidata query and sources.
Accidents and incidents[]
- On February 15, 1970, a Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 flying to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed, killing all 102 people on board. See the Dominicana DC-9 air disaster.
- On 30 January 1975, Douglas DC-3 HI-222 of LANSA crashed on take-off, killing one of the 30 people on board. The aircraft was on an international scheduled passenger flight to Mais Gate Airport, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[9]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "BCRD - Estadísticas Económicas". www.bancentral.gov.do. Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
- ^ "Antonov-225 Delivered Humanitarian Aids to Japan". 2011-03-25. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2016-12-08.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- ^ "AN-225 Mriya / Super Heavy Transport". Archived from the original on 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2016-12-08.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- ^ "Route Analysis: Toronto-Santo Domingo". routesonline.com. September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ "NewRoutes". Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ "Spirit Airlines makes MIA debut with first flights planned for October". Miami Herald. June 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ https://hub.united.com/2020-09-16-united-adds-antimicrobial-spray-to-already-extensive-cabin-cleaning-measures-2647678535.html
- ^ [https://web.archive.org/web/20190401200126/http://www.jac.gob.do/transparencia/index.php/estadisticas/category/521-4to-trimestre Archived 2019-04-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "HI-222 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
External links[]
Media related to Las Américas International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas-JFPG
- Airport information for MDSD at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
- Airports in the Dominican Republic
- Buildings and structures in Santo Domingo Province
- Airports established in 1959
- 1959 establishments in North America