Map - Toncontín International Airport (Toncontín International Airport)

Toncontín International Airport (Toncontín International Airport)
Toncontín International Airport or Teniente Coronel Hernán Acosta Mejía Airport is a civil and military airport located 6 km from the centre of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

The History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports ranks it as the second most extreme airport in the world. The approach to the airport is considered to be one of the most difficult in the world to all aircraft, especially in inclement weather conditions.

Since the 19th century, the plains south of Tegucigalpa became known as the "Potrero Los Llanos", part of a farm adjoining the farm Loarque. In these areas, some political events took place. José Santos Guardiola defeated General José Trinidad Cabañas, seizing presidency of the republic. "El Llano" as it was known, is to the south end of Comayagüela. On a road to the south is the field that served for the takeoff and landing of aircraft. Currently, this forms the Hernán Acosta Mejía (HAM) Air Force base. The first landing was in 1921 when a single-engine plane from the Bristol Aeroplane Company landed with Captain Dean Ivan Lamb in command. He was received by President Rafael López Gutiérrez who broke a bottle of champagne on one of the aircraft's propellers.

The origin of the name Toncontín is unknown, but experts say that it is a word derived from the Nahuatl word "Tocotín", the name of an ancient and sacred dance of Yucatán in Mexico.

Aviator Luigi Venditti conducted several flights using the natural floodplain from Toncontín. Jose Villa, an Italian national, was another precursor of Honduran aviation who conducted flights from Toncontín, as did Starnaivola, Enrique Massi, Ball, and Clarence H. Brown.

The civil war in 1924 caused President Tiburcio Carías Andino to realise that aviation had a great future in Honduras, providing an ideal transport solution for the mountainous country, as well as being a strategic military weapon. For these reasons and with the growth of commercial aviation and the emergence of the Honduran Air Force, General Tiburcio Carías acquired the land that was to become Toncontín Airport in 1933. On January 5, 1934, the airport was inaugurated with the landing of a Douglas DC-3 from Pan American World Airways. Months later TACA opened "Hotel Toncontín" to accommodate passengers in transit, and Pan-Am built a hangar.

During the Football War of 1969, Toncontín Airport was a major target for the Salvadoran Air Force, and was bombed on several occasions, thus preventing the Honduran Air Force from launching its aircraft. The airport was repaired in a matter of days, and the Hondurans countered, making good progress.

 
 IATA Code TGU  ICAO Code MHTG  FAA Code
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Map - Toncontín International Airport (Toncontín International Airport)
Country - Honduras
Flag of Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Tegucigalpa.

Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, before the Spanish colonization in the sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. Honduras became independent in 1821 and has since been a republic, although it has consistently endured much social strife and political instability, and remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 1960, the northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice.
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Currency / Language  
ISO Currency Symbol Significant figures
HNL Honduran lempira L 2
ISO Language
ES Spanish language
Neighbourhood - Country  
  •  El Salvador 
  •  Guatemala 
  •  Nicaragua