Expansion and modernisation of La Aurora International continues to move forward but remains a work in progress, as Renato Serra Fonseca reports.
Guatemala suffered more than 35 years of brutal civil war. Its capital was known for chaos, fighting, drugs and gang-related crime. Peace Accords were signed in 1996 and more than 20 years later the nation is once again on the radar of tourists.
The country and Guatemala City can now capitalise on a rich history and stunning topography. The Central American state has ancient Mayan sites, fine examples of Spanish colonial architecture and natural wonders, including some active volcanoes. Visitor numbers are growing as tourists discover the culture and positive surprises the landscape offers.
Most people will fly to La Aurora International Airport (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT), a civil/military facility that is coming to the end of a renovation plan that has lasted more than a decade. It is about 4 miles (6.4km) from Guatemala City’s centre and stands 4,950ft (1,509m) above sea level. The city and surrounding area’s population is around three million.
It will be many years before the area becomes a tourist hotspot like Cancún in Mexico, for example, but there are relatively safe areas that a visitor can wander around. These include the centre with its impressive colonial-style buildings, most notably Plaza Mayor where you will find the government building (National Palace) and the Catedral Metropolitana (City Cathedral), with its neoclassical interior.
Other attractions further afield include volcanoes and Lake Atitlán, the El Gran Jaguar Maya Pyramid at Tikal or the small city of Antigua, which was the capital of Guatemala until an earthquake in 1773. These and more are now firmly on the globetrotters’ map with many eager to experience the famous festivities, rituals and parades of the Catholic Holy Week at La Merced, a stunning baroque church.
A transport oddity of this city, founded by the Spanish Conquistadors, are the iconic ‘chicken buses’, which are old, USA-donated school buses that have been shortened to better navigate the tiny roads of the city and fitted with an overhauled engine to cope with the altitude.
Chicken bus services, so called because locals would often transport live animals on them, are colour-coded by destination due to the low literacy rate of the country.
Building An Airport
In the 1890s, the area where La Aurora now stands became a farm estate and nearly became a hub for a totally different form of transport. An interoceanic railway was at the heart of the city’s expansion plans. The idea was to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, but it went no further because of enormous debts to British banks. Attempts to raise extra funding failed, but some recreational development took place and a racecourse was established in the early 1920s.
This was also an era when airfields were springing up and Guatemala City was no different to other places around the world. In 1923, a small grass runway was established at a place on the farm estate called Campo de Marte, where the country’s first flight experiments took place. The mixed-use development of the site continued and an international fair was held, along with concerts.
Use changed in World War Two when the United States Army Air Force moved in and built a small terminal, along with a 6,562ft (2,000m) paved runway. By 1959, the airstrip was extended to its current size of 9,800 x 196ft (2,987 x 59.5m) to meet the demands of the jet age.
”Use [of the site] changed in World War Two when the United States Army Air Force moved in and built a small terminal, along with a 6,562ft (2,000m) paved runway “
A new terminal was built between 1966 and 1968 and the old building is used for offices and by the military.
Upgrades
Guatemala initiated a major improvement in infrastructure and safety at its main international airports in 2005. The expansion, remodelling and modernisation plan for the capital city was called ‘New Aurora’. Work began from a base of eight jet bridges (the last of which had been installed in 1998) and a handful of remote stands, although curiously only seven airliners could be handled simultaneously.
The arrival of Boeing 747s and similarsized aircraft prevented others from manoeuvring because of fears that turbulence generated would send objects spinning around the airfield, potentially damaging fuselages. In the 1980s, Pan Am, Iberia, and KLM operated the Queen of the Skies to La Aurora, so interruptions were frequent.
The international terminal was the base for the expansion project. A whole new section was simply ‘added’, with separate entrances for domestic and international areas after check-in, before going airside. The whole runway and the taxiways have been repaved, while the pavement of some intersections and the installation of new runway lights are being completed. An expansion of the runway, however, is unlikely as there is a ravine on threshold 02, where a poor community known as Santa Fe is located, while next to threshold 20 is an important highway and a large shopping centre.
Other improvements included 100 double check-in desks, 14 escalators and ten lifts, 24 immigration desks and 14 extra airbridges, bringing the total to 22. In addition, there are three remote stands and new X-ray machines as well as more lavatories, bars, restaurants and entertainment for children. There is free Wi-Fi and a three-level car park for 480 vehicles was also built.
Improvements to services and facilities, alongside better safety measures allowed La Aurora to comply with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
However, if a Boeing 747 or another large aircraft lands, other airliners cannot taxi due to space restrictions. Gates 5, 6 and 7 are the only ones able to handle widebody or Boeing 757 aircraft. All others are designed for narrowbodies.
The airport currently employs about 600 people.
Corruption
La Aurora has not been immune to corruption scandals throughout the years, but when the ‘New Aurora’ renovations began, a crime feast started in parallel. Wrongdoing included anything from the purchase of a new office desk, the contract to sell fuel inside the airport or even the widely known ‘ghost employees’, where people are employed and receive a salary without doing any work, or even turning up.
”Aviation is a fledgling industry within Guatemala and the people are generally not used to flying “
Some contracts to remodel the airport were awarded to the ‘highest bidder’ who went on to use poor materials, taking far too long to complete the job. Sometimes a contractor would go bankrupt and never finish the task – but all the money had been paid.
Such illegality was a double whammy. Poor materials meant work had to be redone and bankrupt contractors replaced before the building could continue, opening new opportunities for corruption. An extortion scheme involving duty free shops was also uncovered with customs fraud, payout agreements and other illegal activities. All the shops were closed but the investigations were never fully completed.
Even so, ‘New Aurora’ is nearly complete and the airport installations as a whole have evolved, and despite all the trials and tribulations, safety was never compromised.
Regional Traffic
Aviation is a fledgling industry within Guatemala and the people are generally not used to flying. Attempts are being made to establish a domestic and regional market.
Airlines are being incentivised to fly to Mundo Maya International Airport (formerly Flores), in the northeast of the country, making it possible for two local airlines, Transportes Aéreos Guatemaltecos (TAG Airlines) and Aero Ruta Maya Aviation (ARM Aviation) to become rooted.
TAG uses the Embraer EMB 110 Brasilia, the ERJ145 and the Saab 340 to domestic destinations at Flores, El Mirador Sitio Arqueológico and Puerto Barrios, plus charters to Huehuetenango and Retalhuleu. International destinations are Cancún, Belize City, San Salvador (El Salvador), Roatán (Honduras), San Pedro Sula (Honduras) and Tegucigalpa (Honduras).
TAG has opened a subsidiary called TAC in Costa Rica to improve the business and will soon begin connecting San José in Costa Rica with La Aurora using the Embraer ERJ145.
ARM operates the DHC-6 Twin Otter and Cessna Grand Caravan to Flores, Xela (its most important for cargo and passengers), San Marcos, Coatepeque and Huehuetenango. International destinations are Belize City, Palenque and Tapachula in Mexico and Roatán, Utila, La Ceiba, Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and Copán in Honduras, San José in Costa Rica, Managua in Nicaragua and Panama City.
Avianca also operates domestic flights with the ATR 72 to Flores, while helicopter services are available with Helicópteros de Guatemala the Bell 407, 206 and Airbus AS350B.
Guatemala has many aerodromes, mostly with short runways, small terminals and minimal employees, and few host regular flights. All Avianca and TAG regional flights have a technician on board in case of problems and no airline stables aircraft overnight at these remote locations.
Flights are also very short, with a maximum of about one hour. The alternative is going by bus, as few people own cars, but roads are often poor and there are no trains. Last year, 137,320 passengers used these domestic scheduled flights, while 2,440 more used private flights to get around Guatemala.
”Avianca is the largest operator in Guatemala, with more than 3,800 flights in 2018 at La Aurora alone, operating domestic flights and international services to the USA, Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica “
Main Players
Colombian flag carrier Avianca made La Aurora a ‘focus city’ after buying local airline, Aviateca, and changing its name to Avianca Guatemala. Four ATR 72-600 aircraft are based at GUA (TG-TRC, TG-TRE, TG-TRD and TG-TRF), but will soon be branded Regional Express Americas and will continue operating for the parent company and in its colours.
Avianca is the largest operator in Guatemala, with more than 3,800 flights in 2018 at La Aurora alone, operating domestic flights and international services to the USA, Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica. It runs its own ground operations such as baggage handling, aircraft cleaning, towing and line maintenance, while other airlines outsource such tasks. Maintenance for US registered aircraft has been authorised by the FAA.
Due to a recent Guatemalan economic crisis, Avianca is likely to cancel routes to New York, Orlando, Chicago and Tegucigalpa. Plans for a new heavy maintenance hangar for the Airbus fleet, however, remain.
Mexican low-cost carrier, Volaris Airlines, with five regular destinations at La Aurora had plans to formally make a hub at the airport, but that project was not advanced.
Major Port
Even though Guatemala is bathed by both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, La Aurora is the main port of entry for freight. It has a designated ramp with capacity for two freighters (767 or smaller) at the same time. When a 747, A330 or McDonnell Douglas MD-11 are being turned around, other cargo services are directed to remote locations. UPS is the main player with at least one daily 757 or 767 rotation. There can be additional services, for which the carrier may draft in either LATAM Cargo or Amerijet aircraft.
DHL has a daily 757 operation while Martinair Cargo links La Aurora with Amsterdam/Schiphol every Thursday with its 747-400, PH-MPS (c/n 24066), or a KLM Cargo example.
IFL Group deploys a daily Convair 580 on behalf of FedEx while ABX Air uses 767-200s and -300s on its own routes, as well as for LATAM Cargo and UPS. Aerosucre Colombia and Panama Citybased UniWorld Air Cargo are infrequent visitors with 737-200s and 727s respectively.
LATAM Cargo occasionally visits with its 767-300Fs and 777Fs. Avianca Cargo sometimes operates Airbus A330Fs, but when there is not a need for a larger aircraft, it is common to outsource the work to AeroUnion and its Boeing 767s or Airbus A300s.
There were proposals to move all the cargo facilities from La Aurora to Puerto Barrios Airport (PBR/MGPB), located at the Caribbean port city (Puerto Barrios) on the Gulf of Honduras, with its 8,881ft (2,707m) runway. However, those ideas never bore fruit, most likely due to logistical challenges.
To The Future
There are two VIP lounges at La Aurora: Los Añejos is in the international terminal between gates 6 and 7, but travellers must be a member or hold a priority pass; and the Copa Club, owned by Copa Airlines, near gate 14, for the use of its own passengers and Star Alliance VIPs. Major airlines such as Delta, Aeroméxico, American Airlines and others do not have an agreement with any VIP lounge.
There is no executive terminal. Private flights are allocated to the remote gates 1 and 2 and passengers and crew use the same door as ramp employees, catering and airport vehicles. After a security checkpoint, immigration and customs controls, it’s only a short walk to the aircraft. Government authorities use this area as well, but they have a waiting area called the Protocol Lounge.
Status Battle
La Aurora became a FAA Category 1 airport in 2008 but lost its ranking in August last year, mainly because there aren’t any Guatemalan airlines flying to the USA. As a result, there has been no need in the past six years for the FAA to audit LAU.
However, Guatemalan authorities want to recover the airport’s Category I status and an agreement with Panamanian carrier DHL Aero Expreso may be the solution. The cargo airline would create a Guatemalan subsidiary and placed one of its 757-200Fs on the country’s register, using it to operate services to US destinations.
Robbery drama
La Aurora was the set for a ‘movie-style’ robbery 13 years ago. The drama that unfolded would probably have been regarded as too farfetched by Hollywood to turn into a film.
On the morning of September 7, 2006, three armed robbers entered the restricted international area, with the help of the airport security employees, and stole $8m in cash – without making any noise or hurting anyone. At least 15 people on the airport staff, including senior police and army officers were involved. The money, which belonged to private banks, was on a routine transfer to the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States.
The heist occurred airside at gate 7 and those in charge of the cash had no weapons, as they are prohibited airside. The guards appear to have thought everything was so safe that they were sleeping outside the armoured truck as they waited to load the money on to an aircraft.
The robbers took the security staff by surprise and tied them up. They then made their escape via a rarely used door using a fake airport vehicle that was waiting inside. After the robbery, flights were temporarily suspended and no one was allowed in or out of the airport. But the movie would not end there. The aftermath is even more extraordinary. Apparently police officers said some of the money was found but government officials denied this. It seems most of the people directly involved were murdered or died in mysterious circumstances, even inside a prison cell. The cash was never recovered.
