Международный аэропорт имени Аугусто Сесара Сандино в Манагуа

Nicaraguan main airport located in Managua

Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (lang es) or ACS is the main joint civil military public international airport in Managua, Nicaragua. It is named after Nicaraguan revolutionary Augusto Nicolás Sandino (1895–1934) and located in the City's 6th ward, known locally as Distrito 6. Originally christened as Las Mercedes Airport in 1968, it was later renamed Augusto C. Sandino International Airport during the Sandinista government in the 1980s and again in 2001 to Managua International Airport by then president Arnoldo Alemán. Its name was changed once more in February 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega to honor the revolutionary. Managua also has an alternative landing strip at Punta Huete Airport. Punta Huete was designed for larger aircraft and thus has a longer landing strip (3,000m vs MGA's 2,442m). This alternative landing site, however, does not service commercial aircraft. The airport is managed by the state run Administrative Company of International Airports, more commonly known as the EAAI given its Spanish name, the Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales.

Before ACS, there was the old Xolotlan Airport, about 2 miles east of Managua, built in 1915 which very soon became too small for Managua's airline service growth. Thus, on January 22, 1942, the Nicaraguan Government and Pan American Airways signed a contract to construct an airport by Las Mercedes Country Estate which inspired the name for Las Mercedes Airport. Las Mercedes was further upgraded, re designed to handle Boeing 707 aircraft, and re inaugurated on July 4, 1968, by Anastasio Somoza Debayle. In the early 1970s, Las Mercedes was expanded to more modern standards, such as four health inspectors, eight immigration officers and ten customs inspectors. It was considered fully equipped, having air conditioning, background music, loudspeakers and conveyor belts for baggage handling. It also had a restaurant on its upper floor where visitors and travelers could see airport movement. The expanded airport could serve three aircraft at once and by 1975 LANICA, the National Airline of Nicaragua, as well as many well known carriers Pan Am, KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), Taca Airlines, Sahsa, Avianca, Iberia, SAM, TAN, Varig, and smaller local carriers, flew into Las Mercedes. When the Sandinistas took power, the airport was named after Augusto César Sandino, a Nicaraguan revolutionary and guerrilla leader, after whom the Sandinista movement is named. The Sandinistas however did not maintain the airport, and it began to deteriorate until it was expanded and remodeled in 1996, when, among other things, two new boarding bridges were installed. Las Mercedes served for a very long time as a hub for Nicaragua's flag carriers Lanica (until 1978), Aeronica from 1979 to the 80's and NICA afterwards. When NICA became a member of Grupo TACA during the 1990s, the number of important connections to the rest of Latin America from which ACS grew considerably. According to EAAI (Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales) ACS is the most modern airport in Central America and the 4th safest in the world. It is located just from Managua's downtown, has a runway which measures 8015 feet (2443 m) in length and is at an elevation of 194 feet (59 m).

A large expansion programme was underway by 2003 and as of July 2006 the final phase was completed with 7 gates equipped with jetways, and room for 20 airplanes to park. It had been reported in the recent past that the runway would be lengthened by , but to date this projected has not begun, despite the government's achievements in building new airports elsewhere in Nicaragua, or greatly overhauling existing airport/airfield infrastructure in other locations as well. Facilities within the airport include a tourist information desk, bank, restaurants, bars, post office, souvenir shops, duty free shops, lounges and more. The types of services in the VIP lounge include checking baggage and documents with customs and immigration plus the airline; a bar service; snacks etc.

Augusto C. Sandino International Airport is Nicaragua's main international gateway. Domestic flights fly between Bluefields and the Corn Islands airports while also serving a number of airstrips to the country's east. The airport is accessed by the Panamerican Highway, known as the Carretera Norte.

+ Traffic by calendar year. Official Government Statistics Passengers Change from previous year Aircraft operations Change from previous year Cargo(metric tons) Change from previous year2006979,508 6.96% 30,897 0.30% 19,223 0.05%20071,051,830 7.38% 30,609 0.93% 21,727 13.03%20081,138,626 8.25% 31,705 3.58% 19,129 11.96%20091,090,004 4.27% 31,677 0.09% 18,946 0.96%20101,102,196 1.12% 30,030 5.20% 25,981 37.13%20111,120,147 1.63% 28,855 3.91% 22,330 14.05%20121,201,141 7.23% 30,697 6.38% 23,531 5.38%20131,206,172 0.42% 29,955 2.42% 22,281 5.41%20141,311,965 8.77% 29,326 2.10% 23,375 4.91%20151,499,756 14.31% 32,173 9.71% 29,034 24.21%20161,533,034 2.22% 36,822 14.45% 25,383 12.57%20171,627,527 6.16% 36,510 0.85% 25,639 1.01% Source: Nicaraguan Institute of Civil Aviation. Statistical Reports(Years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016)

+ Busiest international routes to and from MGA (Jan. 2014 – Dec. 2016) Airport 2014 2015 2016 Δ 14 15 Δ 15 16 Carriers 1 Miami, United States 407,800 443,800 470,000 8.8% 5.9% American, Avianca 2 Houston, United States 172,400 211,400 194,000 22.6% 8.2% Spirit, United 3 Panama City, Panama 174,000 196,600 197,700 13.0% 1.1% Copa 4 San Salvador, El Salvador 165,600 175,900 145,000 6.2% 30.9% Avianca, Volaris 5 San José, Costa Rica 78,500 79,900 100,000 1.7% 25.1% Avianca, Copa, Volaris 6 Atlanta, United States 87,100 96,500 97,000 10.7% 0.5% Delta 7 Guatemala City, Guatemala 42,500 52,800 86,000 24.2% 62.9% Avianca, Copa 8 Mexico City, Mexico 3,500 45,700 52,000 1,222.8% 13.7% Aeroméxico Connect Source: Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI). Transportation Statistical Yearbook of Nicaragua (Years 2014, 2015 and 2016).

Airline Percentage of Passengers Transported (2015) Copa Airlines 31% Avianca El Salvador 20% American Airlines 15% United Airlines 14% Delta Air Lines 7% Spirit Airlines 6% Aeroméxico 3% Aero Caribbean 2% La Costeña 1% Conviasa 1% Nature Air 1%Total 100.0%