José Martí International Airport

José Martí International Airport
Aeropuerto José Martí
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator ECASA S.A.
Serves Havana, Cuba
Location Boyeros Municipality
Hub for
Elevation AMSL 64 m / 210 ft
Coordinates 22°59′21″N 082°24′33″W / 22.98917°N 82.40917°W / 22.98917; -82.40917Coordinates: 22°59′21″N 082°24′33″W / 22.98917°N 82.40917°W / 22.98917; -82.40917
Map
MUHA

Location in Cuba

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 4,000 13,123 Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Passengers 4,000,000[1][2]
Source: Aerodrome chart[3]

José Martí International Airport (IATA: HAV, ICAO: MUHA), sometimes known by its former name Rancho-Boyeros Airport, is an international airport located 15 km (9 mi) southwest of Havana, Cuba, and is a hub for Cubana de Aviación and Aerogaviota, and former Latin American hub for Aeroflot Soviet Airlines.[4] It is Cuba's main international and domestic gateway, and serves several million passengers each year. The airport is operated by Empresa Cubana de Aeropuertos y Servicios Aeronáuticos (ECASA).

The airport lies in the municipality of Boyeros and connects Havana with the rest of the Caribbean, North, Central and South America, Europe and one destination each in Africa (to Luanda by TAAG Angola Airlines) and Asia (to Beijing, via Montreal by Air China). It is named in memory of patriot and poet José Martí.

In the 1960s, the airport was bombed by B-26 aircraft from Brigade 2506, a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles attempting to liberate Cuba from Fidel Castro. Cubans are not allowed to own aircraft or use the airport for either private or commercial flight. Only government-owned aircraft are allowed to use the facilities. Today, Copa Airlines is the foreign airline with most flights to the airport, operating 34 flights a week (roughly 5 daily flights) from Panama City, Panama and Bogotá, Colombia.

History

The current José Martí Airport in 1930 replaced the Columbia Airfield, which was the first airport to serve Havana. The original name of the airport, Rancho Boyeros, meaning the "(Bull) Drover Ranch", was in reference to the name of the plains/territory where the airport was being built. It was known as the Rancho Boyeros because in colonial times a local family had built a thatched hut and provided meals and an inn to the weary drovers that brought agricultural products to the capital from Batabanó and Vuelta Abajo.

To give a progressive environment to the airport, the old ranch homes were transformed into a small town that would serve as an industrial, livestock, agriculture and commercial centre, rising comfortable homes, an industrial technical school, a paint factory and other facilities. The town today is known as the Boyeros Municipality.

Beginnings

International service in the 1950s

Recent history

In 1961, diplomatic relations with the United States deteriorated substantially and with the United States embargo against Cuba, airlines from the United States were not permitted to operate regular scheduled flights to the airport. That year, two days prior to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion organized by the CIA with the participation of Cuban exiles, Douglas A-26 Invader aircraft from Brigade 2506 bombarded José Martí Airport and Antonio Maceo Airport in Santiago de Cuba. Special charter service to the United States has been allowed in recent years, but must be operated by travel companies licensed by the U.S. government. As part of the Cuban Thaw, regularly scheduled commercial service to and from the United States began again in the fall of 2016, with such airlines as American, Delta and, after January 2017, Alaska, flying to Havana.[6]

Because of Cuba's relationship with the Soviet Union, the airport during the 1970s and 1980s enjoyed the presence of many Eastern Bloc airline companies, such as Aeroflot, Czechoslovak Airlines, Interflug and LOT Polish Airlines. In 1977 an Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 operating a scheduled flight from Moscow to Havana via Frankfurt and Lisbon crashed after takeoff from Lisbon, killing 68 of the 70 on board and one person on the ground. In 1989 a second Ilyushin Il-62, operated by Cubana, crashed after takeoff. All of the 115 passengers and 11 crew members as well as 45 persons on the ground were killed.

In 1988, Terminal 2 was constructed in anticipation of future charter flights to the United States. In the 1990s the special charter flights were approved by the US government, to operate from Miami for Cuban citizens living in the United States that have close relatives in Cuba. Today, various airlines operate non-stop scheduled charter service between Havana and Miami. Terminal 2 was remodelled and expanded in 2010.

On December 31, 1997 a Concorde landed in Cuba for the first time, landing at José Martí Airport. The Air France flight London-Paris-Barbados-Havana was received at the airport by Fidel Castro who boarded the aircraft and greeted the crew and passengers. On April 26 the following year, the new International Terminal 3 was inaugurated by Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Cuba's ex-president Fidel Castro. In 2002 Air Freight Logistics Enterprise (ELCA S.A.) opened José Martí's first freight terminal known as the Aerovaradero Freight Terminal. The terminal has a 600 t (590 long tons; 660 short tons) capacity, 2,000 m3 (71,000 cu ft) of space in two refrigeration and freezing chambers, with humidity and gas controls.

In 2007, three young recruits who deserted from the Cuban army tried to hijack a commercial passenger aircraft aiming to defect to the United States. At Terminal 1, the would-be hijackers killed one of the hostages, a lieutenant colonel.[7]

Terminals

Domestic Terminal 1
Terminal 3 check-in area

There are currently 3 passenger terminals in use at the airport.[8] Terminal 1 is used primarily for domestic flights. Terminal 2 opened in 1988, primarily for charter flights to the United States. Ten years later on April 27, 1998, the International Terminal 3 was opened. International Terminal 3 offers many modern facilities and jetways that the former international Terminal 1 did not provide. For transfer between terminals, bus services are offered.

Terminal 1

Domestic Terminal 1 used to be the main international and domestic terminal building in the airport prior of the opening of terminal 2 and 3-which was constructed in 1998. The terminal is located on the east side of runway 06. It is now used primarily for domestic flights.

Terminal 2

International Charters Terminal 2 handles mainly schedule charter flights to and from Miami, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and New York for US residents with special permission from the United States government and Cuban citizens with US visas, the scheduled charters are operated by Gulfstream Air Charters, ABC Charters, Marazul Charters, CTS Charters and C & T Charters. The terminal is located on the north side, just in front of the threshold of runway 24. It was constructed in 1988 when the first charter flights after the revolution were opened from Miami. There are bars, bookshops, newsagents and also a restaurant on the second floor, as well as car rental.

Terminal 3

International Terminal 3 is the main international terminal which was opened in 1998. It is the largest and most modern of all terminals. Ticketing and departures are located on the upper level, arrivals and baggage carousels are located on the lower level. There are several car rentals located in the Arrivals Area.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Aerogaviota Baracoa, Cayo Coco, Holguin, Kingston–Norman Manley, Montego Bay, Santiago de Cuba
Aeroméxico Cancún, Mexico City
Air Berlin Düsseldorf
Air Canada Rouge Toronto–Pearson
Air Caraïbes Paris–Orly, Pointe-à-Pitre
Air China Beijing–Capital, Montréal–Trudeau
Air Europa Madrid
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Transat Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Alaska Airlines Los Angeles
Alitalia Rome-Fiumicino
American Airlines Charlotte, Miami
Aruba Airlines1 Charter: Miami
Austrian Airlines Seasonal: Vienna
Avianca Bogotá
Avianca El Salvador San Salvador
Avianca Peru Lima
Bahamasair Nassau
Blue Panorama Airlines Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino
Cayman Airways Cayman Brac, Grand Cayman
Condor Frankfurt, Munich
Copa Airlines Panama City
Corsair International Paris–Orly
Cubana de Aviación Baracoa, Bayamo, Bogotá, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Camagüey, Cancún, Caracas, Cayo Coco, Fort-de-France, Guantánamo, Holguín, Las Tunas, Madrid, Managua, Manzanillo (Cuba), Mexico City, Moa, Montréal–Trudeau, Nassau, Nueva Gerona, Paris–Orly, Pointe-à-Pitre, Port-au-Prince, San José, Santiago de Cuba, Santo Domingo–Las Américas, Toronto–Pearson
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, Miami, New York–JFK
Eastern Air Lines
operated by Havana Air1
Charter: Miami, Tampa
Edelweiss Air Zürich
Eurowings
operated by SunExpress Deutschland
Cologne/Bonn
Evelop Airlines Madrid
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki (begins December 1, 2017)[9]
Iberia Madrid
InterCaribbean Airways Providenciales
Interjet Cancún, Mérida, Mexico City, Monterrey
JetBlue Airways Fort Lauderdale, New York–JFK, Orlando
KLM Amsterdam
LATAM Perú Lima
Meridiana Milan–Malpensa
Neos Seasonal Charter: Milan–Malpensa
PAWA Dominicana Santo Domingo-Las Americas
Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas Barcelona
Southwest Airlines Fort Lauderdale, Tampa
Sun Country Airlines1 Charter: Miami, New York–JFK
Sunrise Airways Port-au-Prince
Swift Air1 Charter: Baltimore, Fort Myers, Miami, Orlando, San Juan, Tampa
TAAG Angola Airlines Luanda
TAME Quito
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk
United Airlines Houston–Intercontinental, Newark
Virgin Atlantic London–Gatwick
Wingo Bogotá
Notes

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Cubana Cargo
operated by Cargojet Airways
Toronto–Pearson
Sky King, Inc. Miami

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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