Teniente General Benjamín Matienzo International Airport

For the airport in Panama, see Tocumen International Airport.

Teniente Benjamín Matienzo International Airport (IATA: TUC, ICAO: SANT) is an international airport 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) 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.

Teniente Benjamín Matienzo International Airport
IATA: TUC ICAO: SANT
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Government and Aeropuertos Argentina 2000
Serves	San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
Elevation AMSL	1,495 ft / 456 m
Coordinates	26°50′27″S 65°06′17″W
Map
TUC Location of the airport in Argentina
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 02/20 3,500 11,483 Concrete
Statistics (2017)
Total passengers 567,310
Source: SkyVector[1] GCM[2] [3]

The airport is named in honor of Benjamín Matienzo [es]^[4][5] 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 650 metres (2,133 ft) 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 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) and was closed in 1987. The main bus 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 pavilion 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. A freight terminal was constructed in 2013.^{[citation needed]}

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 2,900 to 3,500 metres (9,500 to 11,500 ft), making it the second longest in Argentina, after Piloto Civil Norberto Fernández International Airport in Río Gallegos.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Buenos Aires–Aeroparque, Córdoba (AR), Puerto Iguazú, Punta Cana,[6] Salta, San Carlos de Bariloche Seasonal: Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Mar del Plata
Flybondi	Buenos Aires–Aeroparque
JetSmart Argentina	Buenos Aires–Aeroparque, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza

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.

Airlines	Destinations
Atlas Air	Miami
LATAM Cargo Chile	Seasonal: Miami

Statistics

Traffic by calendar year. Official ORSNA statistics

	Passengers	Change from previous year	Aircraft operations	Change from previous year	Cargo (metric tons)	Change from previous year
2011	404,040	1.71%	6,007	2.21%	4,937	58,95%
2012	444,893	10.11%	5,655	5.86%	5,167	4.59%
2013	500,906	12.59%	6,099	7.85%	3,427	33.64%
2014	523,191	4.45%	5,538	9.20%	5,950	73.62%
Source: ORSNA (es)

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 (continuation from Av. Sarmiento) 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.

See also

• Argentina portal
• Aviation portal
• Transport in Argentina
• List of airports in Argentina

References

1. "Tucuman Airport". SkyVector. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
2. Airport information for Teniente Benjamín Matienzo International Airport at Great Circle Mapper.
3. En vivo desde TUC [@aeropuertotuc] (19 August 2017). "IMPRESIONANTE: Con ustedes, la nueva pista de aterrizaje de Tucumán. Con sus 3.500 metros de largo, es ahora la más…" (Tweet) – via Twitter. (in Spanish)
4. "Benjamín Matienzo". Archivo Histórico (in Spanish). Archivo Histórico de la Provincia de Tucumán. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
5. "Teniente Benjamín Matienzo". Early Aviators. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
6. "Aerolíneas Argentinas volará a Punta Cana desde Tucumán y Rosario". 29 July 2024.

External links

• Current weather for SANT at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for TUC at Aviation Safety Network