Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport

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Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Ramón Villeda Morales) (IATA: SAP, ICAO: MHLM), also known as La Mesa International Airport, is located 11 kilometres (7 mi) southeast of the city of San Pedro Sula, in the Cortés Department of Honduras.

Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport

La Mesa International Airport

Aeropuerto de San Pedro Sula
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
ServesSan Pedro Sula
StandortLa Lima
OpenedFebruary 1965 (airport and old terminal) 1997 (current terminal)
Elevation AMSL92 ft / 28 m
Coordinates15°27′10″N 87°55′25″W / 15.45278°N 87.92361°W / 15.45278; -87.92361
Map
SAP is located in Honduras
SAP
SAP
Location in Honduras
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04/22 2,886 9,469 Concrete
Statistics (2015)
Passengers881,199
Passenger change 13–14Increase0.4%
Aircraft movements26,310
Movements change 13–14Decrease4.4%
Source: Honduran AIP,[1] InterAirports, S.A.[2] GCM[3]

The airport is named after Ramón Villeda Morales (1909–1971), who served as President of Honduras from 1957 to 1963. It is the major and busiest airport in Honduras, handling about 1,022,924 passengers in 2018. The airport also handles about 150 flights internationally and domestically. The airport provides short connections to tourist attractions such as La Ceiba, and the Caribbean beaches of Roatán and Tela.

History

The Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport was inaugurated in February 1965. This was because with the rapid growth of the population, and the difficulty for pilots to land at the old airport located in the Barandillas neighborhood in San Pedro Sula. In addition, a modernization of the air service was being carried out, and a new airport was necessary since the old airport only had a dirt runway and a small house that served as a terminal.[4]

In 1997, the current passenger terminal was inaugurated, built in a new location to the old one inaugurated in 1965. In 2013, a remodeling of the passenger terminal began to improve the facilities and infrastructure of the airport.

The airport was damaged in 1997 by Hurricane Mitch. The airport was damaged yet again in 2020 by Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota, which submerged the airport, causing humanitarian flights to the country to be delayed.

Air Europa started a route to Madrid using Airbus A330s in April 2017. This was Honduras's first direct link to Europe.[5][6]

in March 2023, SAN (Servicio Aeroportuario Nacional) announced a large remodeling of the airport. Further details were announced in July 2023. The project will cost 15 million dollars (370 million lempiras) and will include new additions such as a canopy, and amplifying many parts of the airport.

Facilities

 
Military aircraft.
 
Outside the airport.

The airport is at an elevation of 92 ft (28 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway with a concrete surface measuring 2,886 m × 46 m (9,469 ft × 151 ft).[1]

The airport relies with 2 terminals integrated in the same building: A and B. The terminal has 4 gates and 3 Jet bridges. There’s a single immigration office, security cameras and an parking lot with a cost of $1.00 dollar per hour.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aerolineas Sosa La Ceiba, Roatán
Aeroméxico Connect México City
Air Europa Madrid
American Airlines Miami
Avianca El Salvador San Salvador, Guatemala City
CM AirlinesGuatemala City, Roatán, Tegucigalpa, Útila
Copa AirlinesPanama City–Tocumen
Delta Air LinesAtlanta
Spirit AirlinesFort Lauderdale, Houston–Intercontinental, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando
TAG AirlinesGuatemala City
Tropic AirBelize City
United AirlinesHouston–Intercontinental, Newark
Volaris El SalvadorGuatemala City, Miami, San Salvador

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Amerijet International Fort Lauderdale, Miami, San Salvador
Contract Air Cargo Miami
DHL Aero Expreso Guatemala City, Miami
FedEx Express Miami
UPS Airlines Guatemala City, Miami, Louisville

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at SAP airport. See Wikidata query.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b MHLM – LA MESA Internacional
  2. ^ Memoria de Sostenibilidad 2014-2015
  3. ^ Airport information for Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport at Great Circle Mapper.
  4. ^ "INFORME DE LOS AEROPUERTOS INTERNACIONALES DEL MES DE JULIO DE 2019 DIRECCION TECNICA - PDF Free Download". docplayer.es. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Avión de Air Europa toca suelo hondureño en vuelo inaugural Madrid-SPS". Proceso Digital (in Spanish). 27 April 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Primer vuelo de Air Europa llega el jueves a San Pedro Sula". La Prensa (in Spanish). 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2022.

  Media related to Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport at Wikimedia Commons