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General Francisco Mujica International Airport facts for kids

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General Francisco J. Mujica International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional General Francisco J. Mujica
MLM 2020 02 14.jpg
Morelia Intl. airport tarmac and new expansion of boarding area (grey building, completed in Feb. 2020)
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico
Serves Morelia, Álvaro Obregón, Michoacán, Mexico
Focus city for Volaris
Elevation AMSL 1,839 m / 6,033 ft
Coordinates 19°51′00″N 101°01′32″W / 19.85000°N 101.02556°W / 19.85000; -101.02556
Map
MLM is located in Michoacán
MLM
MLM
Location in Michoacán
MLM is located in Mexico
MLM
MLM
Location in Mexico
Runway
Runway Length Surface
m ft
05/23 3,408 11,181 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Total Passengers 1,172,700
Ranking in Mexico 20th Decrease 1
Source: Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico

General Francisco J. Mujica International Airport (also known as Morelia International Airport) is a busy airport in Álvaro Obregón, Michoacán, Mexico. It is very close to the city of Morelia. This airport handles flights both within Mexico and to other countries.

The airport is named after Francisco José Múgica. He was a former governor of the state of Michoacán. This airport is the biggest one in the entire state. The longest flight from Morelia goes to Chicago, in the United States. The shortest flight goes to Mexico City.

Morelia International Airport is growing very fast. In 2020, it served about 947,100 passengers. By 2022, this number grew to 1,172,700 passengers. This was the first time the airport served over a million passengers in one year!

History of Morelia Airport

The airport first opened its doors in 1984. Back then, it only had one flight a day. This flight used a Douglas DC-9 plane and went to Mexico City. Over the years, the airport has grown a lot. It is now the largest airport in the state of Michoacán.

Many different airlines have flown from this airport in the past. Some of these included Aero California, Aeromar, and Mexicana.

Since May 2019, the airport has been getting a big makeover. The main building is being expanded. This project will add more space for checking in. There will also be more shops and restaurants for travelers. Plus, they are adding more places to pick up your bags and more gates for planes.

Volaris, a major airline, has even set up a base for its flight crews here. This helps them manage their many flights from Morelia. They fly to cities in Mexico and the United States.

Airlines and Where They Fly

Passenger Flights from Morelia

A Volaris A319 and an Aeromexico Connect Embraer 170 at Morelia International Airport tarmac.
A Volaris A319 and an Aeroméxico Connect Embraer 170 parked at the gates.
Airbus A320Neo and Airbus A320 of Volaris line up at Morelia Airport tarmac.
Volaris is the biggest airline flying from Morelia.

Many airlines fly from Morelia to different places. Here are some of the main ones:

Map of Destinations

You can see where flights from Morelia go on these maps.

Destinations map

Airport Statistics

How Many Passengers Use Morelia Airport?

Busiest Flight Routes from Morelia (2022)

This table shows the busiest routes from Morelia International Airport in 2022.

Busiest routes at Morelia International Airport (2022)
Rank City Passengers Ranking Airline
1  Baja California, Tijuana 271,915 New entry Volaris
2  United States, Chicago (Midway and O'Hare) 88,607 Decrease 1 VivaAerobús, Volaris
3  United States, Los Angeles 31,444 Steady Volaris
4  United States, Oakland 30,417 Decrease 3 Volaris
5  United States, Dallas 28,187 Steady American Airlines, American Eagle
6  United States, San Jose 22,475 Decrease 1 Volaris
7  United States, Fresno 22,021 Decrease 1 Volaris
8  United States, Houston 20,846 Decrease 1 United Express
9  Quintana Roo, Cancún 19,409 New entry Volaris
10  Baja California, Mexicali 15,447 New entry Volaris
11  Nuevo León, Monterrey 14,629 New entry VivaAerobús
12  Mexico City, Mexico City 12,990 New entry Aeroméxico Connect

Airport Events and Incidents

  • September 9, 1978: A small plane crashed after taking off from Mexico City. It was flying to the old Morelia Airport. Sadly, 18 people out of 21 on board passed away.
  • October 20, 2002: Before a flight from Morelia took off, the crew and a witness reported seeing 9 small, round objects in the sky. The objects moved together for about 10 minutes. After they left, the flight continued safely.
  • September 19, 2010: A flight heading to Morelia from Las Vegas had a fuel leak. The plane had to return to Las Vegas for an emergency landing. All 102 passengers were safe.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional General Francisco J. Múgica para niños

  • List of the busiest airports in Mexico
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