La Paz International Airport (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Aeropuerto Internacional de La Paz''); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Manuel Márquez de León'' (Manuel Márquez de León International Airport) is an international airport located in

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

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 ...

, situated along the western shore of the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

. It serves as the primary air traffic gateway to the city of La Paz and is a focus city for the regional airline Calafia Airlines. The airport also accommodates military facilities for the

Mexican Army The Mexican Army () is the combined Army, land and Air Force, air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National Defense o ...

and the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...

and supports various tourism, flight training, and general aviation activities. Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico owns and operates the airport, and it is named in honor of Manuel Márquez de León, a Mexican politician, military leader, and intellectual originally from this state. The airport served as the headquarters and hub for

Aero California Aero California (at times shortened as ''AeroCal'') was a low-cost airline with its headquarters in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, operating a network of domestic passenger flights with its airline hub, hub at the city's Manuel Márquez d ...

from its foundation in 1960 until its bankruptcy in 2006. The airport offers nonstop flights to many major cities in Mexico and numerous airports in Northwestern Mexico. It plays a significant role in a heavily traveled air corridor connecting the Baja California Peninsula to the mainland Mexico states of

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

and

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

. In 2022, the airport handled 1,079,600 passengers, marking the first time it reached the milestone of one million passengers in a year. Traffic increased to 1,206,000 passengers in 2024.

Facilities

The airport has a main

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

18/36 which is long. The passenger terminal houses both arrival and departure facilities for domestic and international flights within a building with an area of . It provides typical services found at a regional airport, including check-in counters for domestic and international flights, VIP lounges, parking areas, car rental services, taxi stands, and a departure concourse with three gates. The

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

has nine stands capable of accommodating narrow-body aircraft. Additionally, the airport supports logistics and courier companies and has a separate terminal dedicated to general and executive aviation.

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

Base No. 9 () (BAM-9) is situated to the west of the runway 18 end. This base includes an apron measuring , two

hangars A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

, and facilities for Mexican Air Force personnel. This air base is the home of Squadron 203, which currently operates Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer aircraft.La Paz Airport also accommodates La Paz Naval Air Base (), situated to the north of BAM-9. This base includes hangars, aircraft stands, and military facilities owned by the

. These facilities are also home to the School of Naval Aviation, which is part of the Center for Naval Aeronautical Studies. La Paz Naval Air Base hosts the following units: * 2nd Patrol Naval Air Squadron – operating RC695,

Lancair IV-P The Lancair IV and IV-P are a family of four-seat, low-wing, landing gear, retractable-gear, composite construction, composite monoplanes powered by a Continental TSIO-550 turbocharger, twin-turbocharged piston engine.Vandermeullen, Richard: ...

* 2nd Air Mobility, Observation and Transport Naval Air Squadron – operating

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. Russian production of t ...

* 2nd Shipborne Patrol Naval Air Squadron – operating Bo 105CBS-5 * 2nd Transport Naval Air Squadron – operating An-32B

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Notes

Viva flight to Monterrey makes a stopover in Culiacán. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OF LA PAZ

Facilities

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Notes

Destinations map

Statistics

Passengers

Busiest routes

See also

References

External links