Teniente General Benjamín Matienzo International Airport


Teniente General Benjamín Matienzo International Airport is an international airport east of the city of San Miguel de Tucumán in Argentina. It serves Tucumán Province in the north of the country. It was built in 1981, and its terminal was inaugurated on 12 October 1986. The airport provides four departure gates, two arrival gates, immigration and passenger services, plus the second largest cargo terminal in Argentina.
The airport is named in honor of Benjamín Matienzo, :es:Benjamín Matienzo| who died in the first attempt to fly over the Andes to Chile.

Overview

This airport replaced the old one, located on the Ninth of July Park, because of its location only from the Plaza Independencia, and the lack of space for expansion, plus noise restrictions and the risks of having an airport in the very city centre. The old airport had one runway of and was closed in 1987. Now the Bus Main Station uses parts of the apron of the airport, while the Music School from the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán uses the former passenger terminal.
The Departures Sector was rebuilt in 2005, with international flights facilities and a jet bridge. It can accommodate all kinds of aircraft, such as the Boeing 767, Airbus A330 or Boeing 777.
It has a runway, a terminal, two hangars of, and 278 parking places. A freight terminal was constructed in 2013.
In 1988, it handled 710,000 passengers. In 1998, 568,000. And in 2008, just 287,000 passengers. Traffic is growing: 193,000 passengers in 2007; 287,000 in 2008; 365,000 in 2009; 411,000 in 2010; 404,000 in 2011; 445.000 in 2012; 500.906 in 2013; and 523.191 in 2014
On 9 April 2013, the runway designation changed from 01/19 to 02/20 due to magnetic variation. The airport was closed between June and September 2017, when the runway was extended from, making it the second longest in Argentina, after Piloto Civil Norberto Fernández International Airport in Río Gallegos.
The Tucuman VOR-DME is located on the field. The Teniente Benjamin Matienzo non-directional beacon is located south of the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Tucumán is the second busiest airport in Argentina by cargo tonnage, after Buenos Aires-Ezeiza. Most cargo flights are scheduled between September and November, taking fresh fruit to Europe and the United States.

Statistics

Ground transportation

Tucumán International Airport has direct public transport links to San Miguel de Tucumán served by Bus nº 121 to the Bus Terminal Station, through AV. Avellaneda. Route A016 provides access to the City Center. Taxis and rental cars are available as well, as is the case in most airports.

Accidents and incidents

In 1975, a military C 130 Hercules plane was shot down by terrorists. Later, in 1981, Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901 crashed in a river near Buenos Aires, en route from Tucumán, killing all 31 on board.