Ilopango International Airport is an airport located on the eastern part of the city of

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, once serving the city as its international airport until 1980 when it was replaced by the larger and more modern

El Salvador International Airport El Salvador International Airport Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (), , previously known as Comalapa International Airport () and as Comalapa Air Base () to the military, is a joint-use civilian and military airport that serves San Salv ...

, located about 50 km south of the city. Currently, Ilopango is used for military,

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

, and charter aviation only. It also holds the annual Ilopango Air Show. The airport is also home to the National Aviation Museum (''Museo Nacional de Aviación'') of San Salvador, which is housed in the old terminal building.

History

On 27 April 1964, more than 5,000 spectators were present when

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

Flight 503 operated by a Boeing 707-321B landed at Ilopango International Airport. It was the first jet airliner to land at Ilopango International Airport. Ilopango was one of the largest and busiest airports in Central America. During the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, due to its location, it was targeted for bombing by guerrillas. It ended its international service in January 1980, with the construction of the larger, more modern

Comalapa International Airport El Salvador International Airport Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (), , previously known as Comalapa International Airport () and as Comalapa Air Base () to the military, is a joint-use civilian and military airport that serves San Salv ...

. It played a role in the Iran-Contra affair when it was used by the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

dummy corporations A dummy corporation, dummy company, or false company is an entity created to serve as a Front organization, front or cover for one or more companies. It can have the appearance of being real (logo, website, and sometimes employing actual staff), bu ...

to fly funding and arms to the

Contra Contra may refer to: Places * Contra, Virginia * Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California * Contra Costa County, California * Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerla ...

rebels in the Nicaraguan Civil War. Currently, there is a plan involving modernization and enlargement of the airport to accommodate modern aircraft. In 2001, the administration of the airport passed from the military to the Comisión Ejecutiva Portuaria Autónoma (CEPA), which is in charge of planning the modernization project.

Rehabilitation

Ilopango has the same problem of many airports in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

: it borders on the city and has houses nearby so its runway can't be expanded. Its hangars will be relocated and modernized to serve as a modern commercial airport. CEPA has announced that they will begin rehabilitating the airport in late 2013 to allow short domestic flights within

. Ilopango Airport has new signage on the main runway, and a revamped passenger room, as part of preparations being made for new airlines that will begin operating in May 2014. The President of the Civil Aviation Authority (AAC) has reported that a resurfacing of the airport's taxiway will be underway before initial operations of TAES Airlines in February 2015 and TAG Airlines in March 2015.

Volaris Volaris (legally ''Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A.B. de C.V.'') is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe, Mexico City, Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City with its operating bases in Canc ...

is in the process of getting government approval to fly between

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and San Salvador. Among the work completed in the old airport: adequacy of the passenger waiting room, which seats 25 people is completed. In addition to adequate seating for passengers, a new air conditioning system for traveler comfort. These facilities are slated to open in March 2015, when TAG Airlines begins operations at Ilopango Airport. In January 2016, CEPA began building a new passenger terminal due to the high demands of TAG Airlines and

CM Airlines CM Airlines, S. de R.L. is an airline in Honduras that was founded in 2007. According to the airline, "CM" stands for "Cielo Maya" (Mayan sky). CM Airlines serves eight domestic airports within Honduras, as well as Guatemala City through a pa ...

. The new terminal was inaugurated on 7 December 2023. The construction, which cost US$684,000, tripled the airport's passenger capacity.

Other facilities

Aeropuerto Internacional Ilopango El Salvador

The Salvadoran Civil Aviation Authority has its headquarters on the airport property.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger airlines

Former airlines

Aviateca Aviateca S.A. branded Avianca Guatemala is a regional airline headquartered in Guatemala City that serves as the flag carrier of Guatemala. Aviateca was under government ownership and remained so until 1989 when it joined the Grupo TACA alliance ...

(

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

) *

Lacsa Avianca Costa Rica S.A., using callsign as LACSA (''Spanish: Lineas Aéreas Costarricenses S.A.''), minority owned by the Synergy Group, is the national airline of Costa Rica and is based in San José. It operates international scheduled service ...

( San José) *

TACA Airlines Transportes Aéreos del Continente Americano, S.A. ( Spanish for "Air Transport of the American Continent"), known and formerly branded as TACA International Airlines), and operating as Avianca El Salvador, is an airline owned by Kingsland Hol ...

(

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 701, ...

, Tegucigalpa–Toncontín,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

, San José, Panamá,

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

) *

Copa Airlines Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., branded as Copa Airlines, is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa is a subsidiary of Copa Holdings and a member o ...

(

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, Managua, San José, Cartagena,

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

) * SAM ( San Andrés Island) *

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

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Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

via

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

) *

LANICA Líneas Aéreas de Nicaragua, operating as LANICA, was an airline from Nicaragua. Headquartered in the capital Managua, it operated scheduled passenger flights within South and Central America, as well as to the United States. History Th ...

(

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 ...

) *

(

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Houston–Intercontinental,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

) *

Sahsa ''Servicio Aéreo de Honduras S.A.'' , otherwise known as SAHSA Airlines, was the national flag carrier airline of Honduras from October 22, 1945, to January 14, 1994. The airline was a subsidiary of Pan American Airways and merged with '' Tr ...

(Tegucigalpa) *

Transportes Aéreos de El Salvador TAES - Transportes Aéreos de El Salvador S.A de C.V. was a Salvadoran charter airline that operates domestic flights within El Salvador. It operates with a fleet of Piper PA-31 Navajo The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of twin-engined lo ...

(

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

)

Accidents and incidents

* On 27 March 1926, a

Brown 1926 parasol monoplane The Brown 1926 parasol monoplane was a 1920s US, three seat, parasol wing civil aircraft developed from a biplane wartime scout. It was intended for either the private or commercial passenger markets, though one was used as a crop-duster. Design ...

(registration B-1) operated by the Salvadoran Air Force crashed at the Ilopango Airport with no casualties. * On 1 December 1938, a Caproni AP.1 (registration 25) of the Salvadoran Air Force crashed at the airport during a test flight. Italian pilot Armando Chipolli died in the crash. * On 16 September 1943, a

Fairchild PT-19 The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, Royal Air Force, RAF and Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF during World War II. Design ...

B (registration 37) of the Salvadoran Air Force crashed at the airport with no casualties. * On 30 April 1947, a Douglas C-47-DL of Aerovias Latino Americanas (registration YS-30) collided with a train while attempting to land at the Ilopango International Airport. All four occupants survived but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair by the impact and subsequent fire. * On 1 May 1986, a

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete ...

of the Salvadoran Air Force (registration FAS302) crashed north of Ilopango International Airport after it caught fire. All 37 military personnel onboard the aircraft were killed.

References

External links

Museo Nacional de Aviación
{{Authority control Airports in El Salvador San Salvador