Frank País Airport

Frank País Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Frank País) (IATA: HOG, ICAO: MUHG) is an airport serving Holguín, a city in the Cuban province of Holguín. It bears the name of Cuban revolutionary Frank País. The airport was built in 1962 initially only for military purposes before civilian air operations began in 1966. It consists of a domestic and an international terminal, which was built in 1996 and expanded in 2007.

Frank País Airport

Aeropuerto Frank País
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
OperatorECASA
ServesHolguín
LocationHolguín, Holguín Province, Cuba
Elevation AMSL110 m / 361 ft
Coordinates20°46′44″N 076°18′44″W
Map
MUHG is located in Cuba
MUHG
MUHG
Location in Cuba
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 3,238 10,623 Asphalt

History

The aviation history of Holguín originates in a makeshift runway built near the Hill of the Cross (Spanish: Loma de la Cruz) in the city. Domingo Rosillo landed on this airstrip in 1914, one year after becoming the first pilot to fly between Key West and Havana. The first official airport serving Holguín was inaugurated on 30 October 1930.[1] On this day, the airport served as one of several stops on the first airmail route in Cuba, between Havana and Santiago de Cuba.[2][3] The airport was located in the neighbourhood of Peralta and named after mambí General Julio Grave de Peralta. However, because there was often dense fog at the airport, it closed a few years afterward; and operations moved to another site close to the location of the current airport.[1]

In 1962, a military airbase was established on the outskirts of the city. Civilian air operations shifted to an area within the base on 10 November 1966, thus establishing Frank País Airport.[1][4] As the tourism sector in Guardalavaca grew during the early 1990s, there was a need for a new international terminal, which was constructed in 1996 by Canadian infrastructure company Intelcan Technosystems.[5] In 2007, the capacity of the terminal was doubled to 1,200 passengers per hour through a 1,300-square-metre (14,000 sq ft) expansion, which took one year to complete.[6] Carried out to reduce congestion in the terminal during peak season, the expansion included additional customs facilities and a new VIP lounge.[6][7] The inauguration of the expanded facilities was presided over by politician and then future president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel.[7]

On 25 March 2020, it was announced that international flights from the airport were ceasing because of the coronavirus shutdown. [8] Flights began again on 3 November 2020, with three flights.

Infrastructure

Terminals

Frank País Airport has two terminals, one serving domestic flights and the other international flights. The international terminal can handle up to 1,200 passengers per hour and has various duty-free shops, restaurants and car rental agencies as well as a VIP lounge.[5][6]

Airfield

Frank País Airport has a single runway, 05/23, which has dimensions 3,238 by 45 metres (10,623 ft × 148 ft)[9] and is equipped with an instrument landing system.[5][10] The apron in front of the passenger terminal has six parking stands.[5]

Airlines and destinations
A Sunwing Airlines Boeing 737-800 on the ramp
AirlinesDestinations
Aerogaviota Havana, Montego Bay
Air Canada Rouge Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Air Transat Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Halifax, Québec City
American Airlines Miami
Aruba Airlines Managua
Condor Seasonal: Frankfurt
Neos Milan–Malpensa
OWG Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Sunrise Airways Port-au-Prince
Sunwing Airlines Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Halifax, Hamilton (ON), Ottawa, Quebec City
VivaAerobús Cancún

Military airbase

Built during the Cold War, the airbase is one of the most important in the country, housing large barracks and bunkers for fighter aircraft. The base is located on the north side of the airport and has its own apron.[5]

Access

The Central Highway (Spanish: Carretera Central) connects Frank País Airport to the city of Holguín, which lies about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the northeast.[5] The beaches of the Costa Holguinera resort of Guardalavaca, Playa Esmeralda, Playa Pesquero, and Playa Blanca are situated at 1 hour travel and is a reason Canadian and European charters land here.

References
  1. Hechavarría, Héctor Carballo (15 January 2016). "Entre cielo y tierra" [Between sky and earth]. Juventud Rebelde (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  2. "Alas cubanas por el mundo, aniversario 80" [Cuban wings around the world, 80th anniversary]. Granma (in Spanish). 6 October 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  3. Palacios, Arlene Gómez (25 June 2015). "Alzar el vuelo con la historia" [Take flight with history]. RadioAngulo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  4. Díaz-Ricardo, Yanet; Lamoth-Borrero, Leydis; Hernández-Osorio, Ricardo (2012). "Sistema para la Gestión de Contratos Económicos en la Zona Oriente Norte de la Empresa Cubana de Aeropuertos y Servicios Aeronáuticos (ECASA S.A)" [System for Management of Economic Contracts in the Northeast Zone of ECASA]. Ciencias Holguín (in Spanish). 18 (3).
  5. "Holguin's Frank Pais Airport poised for future growth". Cuba News. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  6. "Amplían aeropuerto Frank País en la provincia de Holguín" [Frank País Airport in Holguín Province expanded]. Juventud Rebelde (in Spanish). 7 June 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  7. "Duplica capacidad de recepción aeropuerto cubano" [Double passenger capacity in Cuban airport]. Granma (in Spanish). 4 June 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  8. "Aeropuerto de Holguín cancela todas sus operaciones internacionales".
  9. "MUHG - Holguin Airport". SkyVector. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  10. "Airport information for Frank País Airport". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 2019-03-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006.

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