Tuxtla Gutiérrez International Airport
Ángel Albino Corzo International Airport (IATA: TGZ, ICAO: MMTG) (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Ángel Albino Corzo), also known as Tuxtla Gutierrez International Airport, is an international airport serving the Mexican municipality of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas. It handles air traffic for the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez and central Chiapas, including the popular tourist destination of San Cristóbal de las Casas.
Tuxtla Gutiérrez International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional de Tuxtla Gutiérrez | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Grupo Aeroportuario de Chiapas | ||||||||||
| Serves | Tuxtla Gutiérrez | ||||||||||
| Location | Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 457 m / 1,499 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 16°33′49″N 093°01′21″W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  TGZ  TGZ | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||
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Source: Grupo Aeroportuario de Chiapas | |||||||||||
It was inaugurated by President Vicente Fox and by the State's Governor Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía on June 27, 2006,[1] replacing the Francisco Sarabia National Airport. It is operated by Grupo Aeroportuario de Chiapas, a government-owned corporation.
The airport was originally designed with a capacity to handle 350 daily operations and 850,000 passengers per year,[1] it comprises a concrete runway, a parallel taxiway, several hangars, a commercial aviation apron, a general aviation apron, a military base, and a state-of-the-art commercial terminal equipped with six glass jetways, two of which are capable of handling medium-large airliners such as the Boeing 767 and Airbus A330. To improve the airport's capacity, the operator invested 440 million MXP to expand and modernize all installations.[2] Works were completed in December 2020, expanding its surface by 140% for a total of 22,472 m2 and increasing the contact positions to 8 jetways.[3]
According to official statistics provided by the Civil Aviation Federal Agency (AFAC), in 2021 the airport handled 1,186,528 passengers, and 1,590,178 in 2022, an increase of 34.02%. It is the largest in the Southwestern region and among the Top 15 busiest in the country.[4] The airport reached the million-passenger milestone for the first time on November 28, 2015.[5]
History
The first commercial airport to serve Tuxtla Gutierrez was inaugurated in 1957 in Terán, to the west of the capital. This small airport had capacity and technical limitations. Operations were moved in 1980 to the Llano San Juan airport in the neighboring municipality of Ocozocoautla; however, this location had adverse fog and wind conditions that made commercial aviation quite difficult. Several investments were made to counteract them (radio systems, a second runway) but they were unsuccessful, so by the end of the 90's, the old Terán Airport had to be used temporarily to carry out operations.[6]
The need to build a third airport in the Tuxtla Gutierrez increased considerably in the 21st century because the existing air infrastructure did not fully meet the city's commercial air traffic needs. On 27 June 2006, the new Angel Albino Corzo Airport was inaugurated in Chiapa de Corzo. Investment reached 825 million pesos (72.2 million dollars), 49% federal and 51% state participation. As a result of the commissioning of this new airport, the Terán airport returned to its function as a military air base and the Llano San Juan airport completely closed its doors to commercial and civil aviation.
The opening ceremony was presided over by then President Vicente Fox Quesada and Governor Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía; the inaugural landing of Aviacsa's commercial flight 234 from Tapachula took place with a Boeing 737-201/Adv aircraft with registration number XA-TVL, captained by Jesús Uribe Romero. The first take-off was from that same aircraft to Mexico City.[7]
Although it was designated as an international airport since its inauguration, it only obtained its official status on 21 July 2008. The first landing of a non-commercial international flight took place on 7 September of the same year, welcoming the Canadian national football team playing a match against the Mexican team at the Víctor Manuel Reyna stadium.[8]
In November 2014, it was announced that the airport would be expanded to increase the terminal's capacity from 80,000 to 140,000 passengers per month. The next year, it reached the "one millionth" passenger for the first time in its history, on board Interjet flight 2601.[9]
The largest aircraft ever received by the airport was the Mexican Air Force's Boeing 787-8, on 7 August 2017.
On 17 October 2020, with an investment of 437.6 million pesos, facilities were expanded with the construction of 13,000 square meters of ambulatory and commercial areas, four new points of contact, and a new apron.[3]
Currently, the airport is connected to 10 regular destinations in Mexico and 1 in Central America, served by six commercial airlines. Volaris opened new flights to Mexicali and León/El Bajío in July 2023,[10] while Aerus launched new flights to Ciudad del Carmen and Villahermosa in October 2023.[11] Viva Aerobus will start flights to the new Felipe Ángeles airport in Mexico City by April 2024.[12]
Airlines and destinations
Passengers
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aeroméxico | Mexico City |
| Aeroméxico Connect | Mexico City |
| Aerus | Ciudad del Carmen, Villahermosa |
| TAG Airlines | Guatemala City |
| Viva Aerobus | Cancún, Guadalajara, Mérida, Mexico City, Mexico City–AIFA (begins April 4, 2024),[12] Monterrey |
| Volaris | Cancún, Guadalajara, León/El Bajío, Mexicali, Mexico City, Tijuana |
Destinations map
| Destinations map |
|---|
Tuxtla Gutiérrez Destinations from Tuxtla Gutiérrez International Airport Red = Year-round destination Blue = Future destination Green = Seasonal destination Italic = Suspended destination |
Traffic statistics
| Year | Passenger Traffic | Cargo Traffic (Tons) | Aircraft Operations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 334,181 | 571 | 7,649 |
| 2007 | 704,903 | 1,312 | 13,756 |
| 2008 | 788,486 | 1,099 | 15,862 |
| 2009 | 663,479 | 1,001 | 12,832 |
| 2010 | 650,053 | 1,081 | 12,367 |
| 2011 | 803,611 | 1,046 | 14,182 |
| 2012 | 786,829 | 1,284 | 15,674 |
| 2013 | 855,073 | 901 | 15,930 |
| 2014 | 928,243 | 1,164 | 17,980 |
| 2015 | 1,121,332 | 1,132 | 18,067 |
| 2016 | 1,272,689 | 1,236 | 19,325 |
| 2017 | 1,342,345 | 1,346 | 20,151 |
| 2018 | 1,388,706 | 1,287 | 17,832 |
| 2019 | 1,496,152 | 1,343 | 17,768 |
| 2020 | 756,786 | 755 | 10,813 |
| 2021 | 1,186,528 | 885 | 13,774 |
| 2022 | 1,590,178 | 784 | 15,723 |
Busiest routes
| Rank | City | Passengers | Ranking | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mexico City, Mexico City |
475,053 |  |
Aeroméxico, Aeroméxico Connect, VivaAerobús, Volaris |
| 2 |  Jalisco, Guadalajara |
95,601 | |
VivaAerobús, Volaris |
| 3 |  Quintana Roo, Cancún |
94,225 |  1 |
VivaAerobús, Volaris |
| 4 |  Nuevo León, Monterrey |
70,768 |  1 |
Magni, VivaAerobús |
| 5 |  Baja California, Tijuana |
43,264 | 1 |
Volaris |
| 6 |  Yucatán, Mérida |
27,180 | 1 |
VivaAerobús |
| 7 |  Guatemala, Guatemala City |
3,608 |  |
TAG Airlines |
References
- "Tuxtla Gutierrez International Airport". Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- "Ampliación y modernización del Aeropuerto de Tuxtla Gutiérrez "Ángel Albino Corzo" registra 40 por ciento de avance" (in Spanish). Chiapas en Contacto. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- "Amplían Aeropuerto Internacional Ángel Albino Corzo" (in Spanish). Centro Urbano. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- "Estadística Operacional de Aeropuertos / Statistics by Airport". Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- "Tuxtla Gutierrez airport reaches a million passengers" (in Spanish). Grupo En Concreto. November 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- "Llano San Juan and Santa Lucía, useless airports". Excelsior (in Spanish). June 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- "Fotos en FsMex.com: Aviacsa - Boeing 737-201". FsMex.com (in Spanish). October 2013. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- "Llegó primer vuelo internacional al aeropuerto de Chiapas". Agencia de Servicios Informativos de Chiapas (in Spanish). September 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- "Manuel Velasco celebra nuevo vuelo Toluca-Tuxtla Gutiérrez". Grupo Sexenio Comunicaciones (in Spanish). November 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- "Volaris NS23 Domestic Network Expansions". Aeroroutes. June 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- "Aerus adds two more destinations from Villahermosa". Euro.ES. August 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- "Viva Aerobus Bets Big on AIFA: 17 New Routes". Aviacionline. September 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- "Estadística operacional por origen-destino / Traffic Statistics by City Pairs" (in Spanish). Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil. January 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
External links
