Aviation Specials – May 2018

BELOW:

Tegucigalpa

• Toncontín
  International
  to its friends –
  gained a fearsome
  reputation due to
  the mountainous
  terrain in the area
  and the hill at the
  end of the runway.
  (All photos
  Oscar Josue Elvir
  Vasquez)
  RIGHT: The
  proximity of
  the city and a
  military base limit
  the scope for
  extension of the
  runway.

perimeter today). Two years later, a proper

dirt runway and a passenger terminal were

completed, becoming the fi rst notable

features of what was to become Toncontín

International Airport (TGU).

The fi rst overseas arrival was a Pan

American World Airways Douglas DC-3 on

January 5, 1934. It was followed shortly by

a Transportes Aéreos Centroamericanos

(Central American Air Transport, the

forerunner of TACA – Transportes

Aéreos del Continente Americano) fl ight.

Both airlines identifi ed a commercial

opportunity to serve Honduras, and built

facilities including hangars, and a hotel for

transit passengers.

A regular pa ern of commercial air

services was quickly set up and a national

carrier, Servicio Aéreo de Honduras

(SAHSA), was established in 1945 fl ying

Douglas DC-3s. By then the popularity

of air travel had led the government

to invest in a new passenger terminal

and renovate the runway, during which

the earth was replaced with asphalt,

enabling larger aircraft to visit.

The jet age arrived in 1962 when TACA

started using its newly acquired BAC

One-Elevens to connect Tegucigalpa to

the rest of Central America, prompting

SAHSA to follow suit with Boeing 737s

and 727s. A setback occurred in 1969

when the airport was bombed during

the ‘Football War’ with El Salvador, as

the Honduras Air Force was unable to

respond quickly enough to fend off the

raids. Nevertheless, the facilities at

Toncontín were repaired rapidly and

normal air services resumed.

The golden years

The national carrier continued to

prosper with the support of Pan Am,

and slowly built up a hub to channel

traffi c across the Americas. In 1970

Extreme Airports // 81

TEGUCIGALPA

TAMING TO NCONTIN

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