Tuxtla Gutiérrez International Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tuxtla Gutiérrez International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional de Tuxtla Gutiérrez
IATA: TGZ ICAO: MMTG
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 / 16.56361°N 93.02250°W / 16.56361; -93.02250
Map
TGZ Location in Chiapas Show map of Chiapas TGZ Location in Mexico Show map of Mexico
Runway
Runway Length Surface m ft 14/32 2,500 8,202 Concrete
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft Operations 15,723 Total Passengers 1,590,178 Ranking in Mexico 14th
Source: Grupo Aeroportuario de Chiapas

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.

It was inaugurated by President Vicente Fox and by the State's Governor Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía on June 27, 2006, 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, 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. 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.

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. The airport reached the million-passenger milestone for the first time on November 28, 2015.

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.

The need to build a third airport in the Tuxtla Gutierrez increased considerably in the 21^st 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.

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.

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.

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.

Currently, the airport is connected to 6 regular destinations in Mexico and 1 in Central America, served by five commercial airlines. Volaris announced new flights to Mexicali and León/El Bajío for July 2023.

Airlines and destinations

Passengers

Destinations map

Traffic statistics

An Interjet A320 on the tarmac.

An OCC bus at the airport.

Last waiting hall at the Airport.

Inside of the Airport.

Busiest routes

Busiest routes at Tuxtla Gutiérrez International Airport (2022)

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		Transportes Aéreos Guatemaltecos

See also

In Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Tuxtla para niños

• List of the busiest airports in Mexico