Teniente Benjamín Matienzo International Airport is an international airport east of the city of

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentina, ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It serves

Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neigh ...

in the north of the country. It was built in 1981, and its terminal was inaugurated on 12 October 1986. The airport provides four departure gates, two arrival gates, immigration and passenger services, plus the second largest cargo terminal in Argentina. The airport is named in honor of who died in the first attempt to fly over the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Overview

This airport replaced the old one, located on the

Ninth of July Park Ninth of July Park ( es, Parque 9 de Julio) is the largest public park in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. History and overview Economic growth in the Argentine Northwest city of Tucumán, as in cities nationwide, created the need ...

, because of its location only from the Plaza Independencia, and the lack of space for expansion, plus noise restrictions and the risks of having an airport in the very city centre. The old airport had one runway of and was closed in 1987. Now the Bus Main Station uses parts of the apron of the airport, while the Music School from the

Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

uses the former passenger terminal. The Departures Sector was rebuilt in 2005, with international flights facilities and a

jet bridge A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...

. It can accommodate all kinds of aircraft, such as the Boeing 767,

Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...

. A freight terminal was constructed in 2013. On 9 April 2013, the runway designation changed from 01/19 to 02/20 due to magnetic variation. The airport was closed between June and September 2017, when the runway was extended from , making it the second longest in Argentina, after Piloto Civil Norberto Fernández International Airport in Río Gallegos.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Tucumán is the second busiest airport in Argentina by cargo tonnage, after Buenos Aires-Ezeiza. Most cargo flights are scheduled between September and November, taking fresh fruit to Europe and the United States.

Statistics

Ground transportation

Tucumán International Airport has direct public transport links to

served by Bus nº 121 to the Bus Terminal Station, through AV. Avellaneda. Route A016 (continuation from Av. Sarmiento) provides access to the City Center. Taxis and rental cars are available as well, as is the case in most airports.

Accidents and incidents

In 1975, a military C 130 Hercules plane was shot down by terrorists. Later, in 1981, Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901 crashed in a river near Buenos Aires, en route from Tucumán, killing all 31 on board.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Teniente General Benjamin Matienzo International Airport Airports in Argentina Buildings and structures in San Miguel de Tucumán Airports established in 1981 Buildings and structures in Tucumán Province