El Salvador International Airport
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| Comalapa International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: SAL - ICAO: MSLP | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Joint (Civil and Military) | ||
| Operator | CEPA | ||
| Serves | San Salvador | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 101 ft (31 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 07/25 | 10,500 | 3,200 | Asphalt |
| 18/36 |
2,625 | 800 | Asphalt |
El Salvador International Airport (IATA: SAL, ICAO: MSLP), commonly known as Comalapa International Airport or its real name Cuscatlán International Airport, is located about 50 km (30 miles) from San Salvador in El Salvador. It was built in the late 1970s by the PCN (National Coalition Party in English). Ilopango International Airport, its predecessor, is now used for civil and charter aviation, but their are plans to rehabilitate it as an international airport by 2009. Their are also plans to built a new airport in the Salvadorean coast of Tamarindo, La Union by the building of touristic facilities in this beach, the project is in association with the Exedra Group of Italy
Comalapa International Airport has 2 main terminals with plans to build a third. The Passenger Terminal is a long, modern building decorated in a traditional style and neutral colours. The Cargo terminal, located a few metres left of the Passenger Terminal handles millions of tons of cargo each year. Currently there is a Master Plan for Comalapa International Airport which includes making the primary runway long enough for the Airbus A380, the rehabilitating of the secondary runway, several lights and radars improvements, new taxiways and the construction of a second passenger terminal that will be used in regional flights with small to medium aircraft like the Twin Otter, Grand Caravans and Airbus A318 and A319; this would be a TACA Regional terminal. This Master Plan intends to expand the airport's capacity by 40% maintaining good traffic levels for up to 20 years when, according to the study, the airports traffic will be around 12 million passengers a year.
The major airline serving Comalapa is TACA which controls about 60% of the traffic, but several other airlines such as United Airlines, American Airlines, Mexicana operate within the airport. The most common destination on the airport is Los Angeles, California with 5-7 flights coming and going daily. With 17 gates, it is one of the largest airport in Central America receiving more than 2.3 million passengers a year. It serves as the main hub for TACA International Airlines which has several VIP Lounges located in the Passenger Terminal. The airport has one major runway. Runway 7/25 is 10,500 feet long and 101 feet above the sea level so it can serve most modern aircraft. Also within the airport's area Aeroman, a world leader aircraft maintainer, has its headquarters and most of equipment. You can visit the airport web page here: http://www.aeropuertoelsalvador.gob.sv/ In the webpage a flight schedule is available.
El Salvador International Airport is located 45 minutes from the city of San Salvador. Excellent roads connect the airport with the city. It is considered by Economia y Negocios the biggest and most modern airport in Central America, one of Latin America's four best Airports and one of the top ten Americas Safest Airports.
The airport's modern facilities include duty-free shops, fast food and fancy restaurants, bars, air conditioned areas, tourist facilities, car rental, clean bathrooms, and big waiting rooms. With space for 17 airplanes on the main terminal, 3 on the cargo terminal, 5 in Aeroman and around 20 in the "Long Term Parking" which is runway 18/36 and one of the world's most modern airport radars, 94.5% of its air traffic is on time (2005 Data). It has only been closed once in the more than twenty years since it opened, for only several hours due to Hurricane Stan in 2005. Although it is located near the Pacific Ocean, storms and hurricanes are not frequent.
This airport has served also political purposes, receiving Air Force One on various occasions, carrying U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The airport has an Executive VIP lounge called "Salon Presidencial" where Salvadorean head of state Antonio Saca meets with his homologous presidents a picture of the Presidential Lounge is [here]
[edit] Airlines and destinations
- American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami)
- Continental Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
- Copa Airlines (Managua, Panama City)
- Delta Air Lines (Atlanta).
- Mexicana (Mexico City)
- TACA (Belize City, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Guatemala City, Havana, Houston-Intercontinental, San Jose, La Ceiba, Los Angeles, Managua, Mexico City, Miami, New York-JFK, Roatan, San Francisco, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, Toronto-Pearson, Washington-Dulles)
- TACA Peru (Lima)
- United Airlines (Los Angeles)
[edit] Cargo Carriers
- FedEx
- UPS
- DHL
- Gigante Express
- Grupo Taca Cargo
- Florida West International Airways
- Arrow Air
- TNT Airways
