Antonio Maceo Airport is an international
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
located in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.
Overview
The airport has a drawing of
on one of its outside walls.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
flew to this airport during his last visit to Cuba, flying a round trip between here and
José Martí International Airport
José Martí International Airport , sometimes known by its former name Rancho Boyeros Airport, is an international airport located southwest of the centre of Havana, Cuba, and is a hub for Cubana de Aviación and Aerogaviota, and former Latin ...
in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. . Likewise,
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
, during the second papal visit to Cuba, flew here for Mass and other activities, from his visit to
León and
Guanajuato in Mexico, before moving on to Havana.
The airport is basically a turbo-prop centre. Nevertheless,
jet aircraft also fly to this airport. Most commercial flights into ''SCU'' are domestic, but there are about twenty international flights each week; while these international flights are done mostly by domestic airlines, the international routes have nevertheless awakened the interest of some foreign airlines that might open flights into this airport in the future.
Airlines and destinations
Santiago de Cuba Base
The airport was home to the
Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces
The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial T ...
:
* 35th Transport Regiment -
Antonov An-2 and
Antonov An-26
The Antonov An-26 ( NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Tw ...
transports
* 36th Helicopter Regiment -
Mil Mi-8 and
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been ...
The helipads are now part of the executive jet terminal on the north end of the airport.
Accidents and incidents
* On 2 October 1959, a Viscount of
Cubana de Aviación
Cubana de Aviación S.A., commonly known as Cubana, is Cuba's flag carrier, as well as the country's largest airline. It was founded in , becoming one of the earliest airlines to emerge in Latin America. It has its corporate headquarters in Ha ...
was hijacked on a flight from Havana to Antonio Maceo Airport,
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana.
The municipality extends over , and contains ...
by three men demanding to be taken to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The aircraft landed at the
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most c ...
.
* On 4 November 2010,
Aero Caribbean Flight 883
Aero Caribbean Flight 883 was a domestic scheduled passenger service from Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Havana, Cuba with a stopover in Santiago de Cuba. On 4 November 2010, the ATR 72 operating the route crashed in the central Cuban province of Sanc ...
, an
ATR 72-212, crashed in the centre of the country with 68 people on board. The aircraft was flying from Santiago de Cuba to Havana when it went down. 28 foreigners were reported to be among the passengers. There were no survivors.
NY times - Cuban Plane Crash Kills 68 People
/ref>
References
External links
Puerto Rico-Cuba flights resume after decades
- dead link - and this never happened did it ?
Departures
Arrivals
{{authority control
Airports in Cuba
Buildings and structures in Santiago de Cuba