General
'Quetzaltenango Airport is located in the Guatemalan highlands, in the northeastern part of the city of Quetzaltenango.
The airport is currently undergoing massive construction works, as part of a nationwide airport rehabilitation program. Serving Guatemalas second largest city, AAZ aims to gain international status, along with La Aurora International Airport and Mundo Maya International Airport. The whole region hopes to profit economically from this new airport. So far, the next airport to Quetzaltenango with regular airline connections was 200 km (120 mi) away, in Guatemala City. Until 2006 the airfield in "Xela" only consisted of a grass/gravel runway. It had no significant terminal building and only a small hangar. Air traffic was very limited due to many missing essential features for a safe and unobstructed operation. In September 2006 construction works began, which include:
- extension, asphalting, signposting and illuminating of the runway and taxiway
- construction of a small terminal building and apron for four planes
- construction of a parking area
An emergency operations center has been installed at the airport in order to respond faster to disasters like hurricane Stan in the future. The new runway was inaugurated by president Oscar Berger on January 10, 2008. The terminal is still under construction, and it would be ready by late 2013.
Read more about this topic: Quetzaltenango Airport
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