Las Américas International Airport

Las Américas International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas
Las Américas Airport Terminals view. Copa, Air Pullmantur in Terminal A, and American in Terminal B
IATA: SDQ – ICAO: MDSD
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government
Operator	Vinci Airports
Serves	Santo Domingo
Location	La Caleta, Boca Chica in Greater Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Hub for	PAWA Dominicana Dominican Wings
Focus city for	Aserca Airlines
Elevation AMSL	59 ft / 18 m
Coordinates	18°25′46″N 069°40′08″W / 18.42944°N 69.66889°W / 18.42944; -69.66889Coordinates: 18°25′46″N 069°40′08″W / 18.42944°N 69.66889°W / 18.42944; -69.66889
Map
MDSD Location of airport in Dominican Republic
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 17/35 11,002 3,355 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Aircraft Operations (2012) 29,073 Passengers 3,537,306 Based Aircraft 19 approx.
Source: Banco Central República Dominicana

"SDQ" redirects here. SDQ is also the former callsign of a TV station in Warwick, Queensland, Australia.

Las Américas International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas, or AILA) (IATA: SDQ, ICAO: MDSD) is an international airport located in Punta Caucedo, near Santo Domingo and Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. The airport is run by Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (AERODOM), a private corporation based in the Dominican Republic under a 25-year concession to build, operate, and transfer (BOT) six airports of the country's airports. Las Américas usually receives a wide variety of many long-, mid- and short-haul aircraft.

The airport is the second busiest in the country, after Punta Cana International Airport and one of the largest in the Caribbean, handling 3.5 million passengers in 2015 through its air terminal.^[1]

History

Las Américas Airport opened in 1959 as the official airport of Santo Domingo.^[2] The official name of the airport was changed in 2002 to "Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas- José Francisco Peña Gómez (AIJFPG)" but is most commonly referred to as "Las Américas International Airport", or locally, "Las Américas".

On February 15, 1970, a Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 that was flying to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed, killing all 102 persons on board (see: Dominicana DC-9 air disaster).

Las Américas was the hub for Dominicana de Aviación, APA Dominicana International, Air Santo Domingo and a number of other, smaller airlines. Currently, PAWA Dominicana and SAP Air are based there.

Las Américas also has served as a hub for airlines such as Aeromar Líneas Aéreas Dominicanas, Air Santo Domingo, Aero Continente Dominicana and Queen Air.

Recently, the expressway leading from Santo Domingo to the airport (roughly 20 km east of the city center) was expanded and modernised. The airport was also modernised, and two more terminals were added, including 20 more gates. The new expressway crosses a new suspension bridge which spans the Ozama River, connecting traffic into the city's Elevated Freeway and Tunnel system onto the city's main street, Av. 27 de Febrero. A more scenic route following the coastal shore provides beautiful views of the Caribbean Sea and of the city. This secondary road crosses the Ozama River by means of a floating bridge, connecting traffic onto the Av. George Washington (el Malecón) which leads into the heart of the colonial city.

New Aiport Hotel

A new hotel will open near Las Americas Airport. It is planned to open in 2017 as Hampton by Hilton Las Americas. Construction of a new aircraft apron is also under way near the flight school, with its own taxiway leading to Runway 17/35.^[3]

The new northern terminal

On 18 April 2007, a new terminal was completed and opened for operations. It can accommodate four Airbus A380s simultaneously. This new terminal has four gates with boarding bridges, an air-conditioning system, and maintenance facilities for aircraft.

Hub of the Caribbean

PAWA Dominicana has set its hub in the airport and is planned to grow by 2017, reaching more than 15 destinations. The airline is to add more destinations each year such as Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Colombia, Panama, United States, The Bahamas and Haiti.

Runway

Las Américas' runway direction is 17/35. This runway is the largest in the country, and one of the largest in the Caribbean. With a length of 3,355 m, it is able to support an Airbus A380. The runway of SDQ was last renovated in June 2008. The old taxi-way was also renovated and converted into a full runway while the old runway was being renovated, then it was converted back into a taxiway after the normal runway was finished. The runway accommodated the Antonov An-225 to supply goods after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[4]

Concourses

Northeastern airborne view of SDQ and its runway

American Eagle ATR at the airport

Las Américas has seven gates on the main satellite concourse (A), A1 through A6, which have a shared use and in the same concourse there is an American Eagle gate, A7. Other gate facilities are for the flights departing from a parking in the taxiway. back in the 1960s and 70s the airport used to be much smaller, The original building was half the size of today's newest structure but with a still modern look.

Concourse B has five gates, B1 through B5. Terminal B now features a co-branded Copa Club operated jointly by United Airlines and Copa Airlines, and a Private Lounge exclusive to members and business people.

The average number of daily flights in and out of Las Américas ranges between 68 and 84 flights. JetBlue Airways is the largest airline operating at Las Américas.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Busiest International Routes from SDQ
(2012)^[7]

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	New York City, United States	777,165	Delta Air Lines, JetBlue
2	Miami, United States	447,159	American Airlines, PAWA Dominicana
3	Madrid, Spain	333,398	Air Europa, Iberia, Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas
4	Panama City, Panama	328,191	Copa Airlines
5	San Juan, Puerto Rico	238,931	JetBlue, Seaborne Airlines, PAWA Dominicana
6	Fort Lauderdale, United States	195,547	JetBlue, Spirit Airlines
7	Newark, United States	129,034	United Airlines
8	Bogota, Colombia	94,865	Avianca
9	Atlanta, United States	92,400	Delta Air Lines
10	Boston, United States	70,388	JetBlue

Accidents and incidents

• On February 15, 1970, a Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 flying to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed, killing all 102 persons on board (see: Dominicana DC-9 air disaster).
• On 30 January 1975, Douglas DC-3 HI-222 of LANSA crashed on take-off, killing one of the 30 people on board. The aircraft was on an international scheduled passenger flight to Mais Gate Airport, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.^[8]
• On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, bound for Santo Domingo from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, crashed into a Queens neighbourhood after takeoff, killing all the passengers and flight crew.
• On February 7, 2008, American Eagle flight 5111 had to make an emergency landing in La Romana International Airport after departing from Las Américas International Airport to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport at 11:30 am. The captain said that he had some problems with the right engine, and as they were approaching the La Romana zone smoke began to spray into the cabin. The captain spoke to La Romana's control tower and obtained permission to make an emergency landing there. The aircraft was an ATR-72-500.
• On April 20, 2008, Cubana de Aviación flight 201, bound for Havana, had to return to Las Américas, after reporting two of four engines were out of service and one was on fire. The IL-62 landed without secondary problems into runway 17. All 117 passengers were without any injuries. The plane was in the air next day and landed La Habana with no problems as CUB201D.

See also

• List of the busiest airports in Dominican Republic
• List of the busiest airports in the Caribbean

References

External links

Media related to Las Américas International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas-JFPG
• Airport information for MDSD at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.