Alberto Carnevalli Airport is an airport located southwest of downtown Mérida, the capital of

Mérida State Mérida or Merida may refer to: Places * Mérida (state), one of the 23 states which make up Venezuela * Mérida, Mérida, the capital city of the state of Mérida, Venezuela * Merida, Leyte, Philippines, a municipality in the province of Leyte ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. It is named in honor of Alberto Carnevalli ( es), a Venezuelan lawyer and political activist. The airport is in the Chama River valley in the Andean mountains, surrounded by higher terrain in all quadrants. Night operations are prohibited. Commercial service resumed to Caracas on 1 August 2013, after being suspended for 5 years due to the crash of

Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518 Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518 was an ATR 42–300 twin-turboprop aircraft, registration YV1449, operating as a scheduled domestic flight from Mérida, Venezuela, to Caracas that crashed into the side of a mountain on 21 February 2008, shor ...

. Until 2008, it was the main airport in the state of Merida and one of the most important in the Andean region and the country, at which time new regulations limited commercial operations there.

History and description

Inaugurated in 1946, this airport was located on the outskirts of the city, but the rapid urban growth during the 1960s and 1970s soon left it surrounded by houses and buildings on all four sides. Two large mountain ranges are located around it, on the south side is the Sierra Nevada with its highest peak, Pico Bolivar, at above sea level. It has an air terminal with services such as car rental, excursions to places of tourist interest, sale of air tickets, taxi line, cafeteria, restaurant and commercial shops. The airport does not have customs or beacons, so it cannot accommodate international or night flights. The entries and exits are carried out through the visual corridors "Rio Chama" to the WSW, "Observatorio" to the ENE, "El Morro" to the South and "El Valle" to the North. Operations are governed by VFR flight rules as there are no radio aids nearby. The airport has a single runway long and wide including the security areas. Its infrastructure consists of an air terminal that offers car rental services, excursions to tourist sites, air ticket sales, taxi line, cafeteria, restaurant and several shops. Private flights are coordinated by BAER and INAC staff and the General Aviation ramp parking is free. This airport is not equipped with customs, so it cannot accommodate international flights. Entrances and exits are carried out through the visual corridors Rio Chama to WSW, El Morro to the South and El Valle to the North, operations are governed by VFR flight rules because there are no radio aids nearby, nor does it have beaconing so after sunset or under conditions of poor visibility the airport is disabled and any pending flight is diverted to El Vigia at 1 hour by car. A famous event occurred in 1985 when a

Douglas DC-9-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell A ...

plane of

Aeropostal Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela C.A. is a state-owned airline of Venezuela based in Torre Polar Oeste in Caracas, Venezuela. It operates domestic services and international services in the Caribbean. Its main base is Simón Bolívar Internation ...

, with the registration YV24C, landed in Merida with

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. After the crash of Flight 518, the only approach mode approved by the aviation authorities was the Chama River corridor.

Airlines and destinations

Commercial aircraft that operated on the airport

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...

Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring ...

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

* Bombardier Q400 *

Convair CV-240 family The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

de Havilland Canada Dash 7 The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. Variants were built with 50–54 seats. It first flew in 1975 and remained in producti ...

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger regional airliner, commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as ...

Fokker 50 The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner manufactured and supported by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It was designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of t ...

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell ...

Accidents and incidents

On 21 February 2008,

, an

ATR 42-300 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now part of Airbu ...

twin-

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

en route to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, crashed shortly after takeoff from Carnevalli, killing all 46 people on board. The cause of the accident was pilot error caused by disorientation and rushed procedures.

References

External links