Bluefields International Airport is an airport serving
Bluefields
Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the capital of the former Kingdom of Mosquitia, and later the Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Reg ...
, a harbor city in the
South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region
The South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It was created along with the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region by the Autonomy Statute of 7 September 1987 through a division of the former Zelay ...
of
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
. It is the busiest airport in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
coast of Nicaragua.
A new terminal was opened recently and extension of the runway is planned. Currently, the airport serves only domestic and small international destinations, but plans are to make it international in the future.
Taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
and
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
service are available.
The airport is just south of the city on the Bluefields Bay shore. North approach and departure are over the water. The runway length includes a
displaced threshold
A displaced threshold or DTHR is a runway threshold located at a point other than the physical beginning or end of the runway.
The portion of the runway behind a displaced threshold may be used for takeoff in either direction and landings from t ...
on Runway 23.
The Bluefields
VOR/DME
In radio navigation, a VOR/DME is a radio beacon that combines a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) with a distance-measuring equipment (DME). The VOR allows the receiver to measure its bearing to or from the beacon, while the DME provides the sla ...
(ident: BLU) is located on the airfield.
Airlines and destinations
Accidents and incidents
*On 10 May 1982, two hijackers demanded a
Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando
The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highes ...
of
Aeronica
Aerolíneas Nicaragüenses S.A., operating as Aeronica, was an airline based in Nicaragua. Headquartered in the capital Managua, it operated scheduled passenger flights within Central America, as well as to Mexico City and the United States from ...
to leave its Bluefields-Corn Island route and land in Costa Rica instead. The pilots obeyed and landed at
Limón International Airport
Limón International Airport () in Limón, Costa Rica, is one of the four List of airports in Costa Rica, international airports in that country.
Puerto Limón and the southern Caribbean area towns of Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, Manzanillo and Gando ...
in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, where the perpetrators surrendered.
*On July 20, 1999, a
Cessna Grand Caravan
The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna.
The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982.
The production model was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA ...
operating as
La Costeña flight 046 from Managua to Bluefields crashed into a remote hillside 50 km west of Bluefields when it descended prematurely, killing all 16 on board.
*On December 19, 2007 a
Short 360
The Short 360 (also SD3-60; also Shorts 360)Mondey, David. ''Encyclopedia of the World's Commercial and Private Aircraft''. New York: Crescent Books, 1981. , p. 228. is a commuter aircraft that was built by UK manufacturer Short Brothers durin ...
of
La Costeña Airlines struck a tire when attempting takeoff from Bluefields Airport. No-one was hurt.
See also
*
*
*
List of airports in Nicaragua
This is a list of airports in Nicaragua, sorted by location.
__TOC__
List
Airport names indicated in bold indicate that the facility has commercial service on scheduled airlines.
See also
*
*
* Transport in Nicaragua
* List of airports by ...
*
Transport in Nicaragua
Transport in Nicaragua revolves around road, air and water transport modalities.
Road transport
The road infrastructure is very well spread across the Pacific side, while the Atlantic side has less infrastructure. As of 2009, from a total of 19, ...
References
External links
OpenStreetMap - BluefieldsSkyVector - Bluefields AirportEAAI Profile
*
Airports in Nicaragua
South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region
{{CentralAmerica-airport-stub