Major General James G. Blunt

Morelia International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Morelia); officially Aeropuerto Internacional General Francisco J. Mujica (General Francisco J. Mujica International Airport) (IATA: MLM, ICAO: MMMM) is an international airport located in Álvaro Obregón, Michoacán, Mexico. It serves the Metropolitan Area of Morelia, Michoacán, and is the largest airport in the state of Michoacán. In addition to providing domestic flights within Mexico, it serves as a gateway for international travel, connecting Central Mexico to multiple destinations in the United States.

The airport also supports various tourism, flight training, and general aviation activities. It is named in honor of former Governor of Michoacán Francisco José Múgica and it is operated by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico. In 2022, the airport reached the million-passenger milestone for the first time; traffic increased to 1,384,300 passengers in 2023.[1], ranking as the eighth-busiest airport in Mexico for international passenger traffic.[2]

History

Passenger terminal airside ramp

The airport began its operations in 1984, initially offering only one daily flight using a DC-9 aircraft to Mexico City. Over the years, it has been served by various airlines, including Aero California, Aero Sudpacífico, Aeromar, Aviacsa, Avolar, Líneas Aéreas Azteca, Continental (now United), Mexicana, TAESA, and TAR. In 2019, the airport underwent expansion efforts to enhance its capabilities. During the same year, Volaris established a crew base at the airport to support its growing number of flight routes connecting Morelia to destinations within Mexico and the United States.[3]

Facilities

The airport is located at an elevation of 1,839 metres (6,033 ft) above mean sea level. It has a single runway, designated as 05/23, which measures 3,408 metres (11,181 ft) in length and is surfaced with asphalt.

The commercial aviation apron covers an area of 40,284 square metres (433,610 sq ft) and includes nine stands for receiving narrow-body aircraft. The general aviation apron has a total area of 12,060 square metres (129,800 sq ft) and offers twelve stands for fixed-wing aircraft along with two heliports for private aviation and occasional use by third-level commercial aviation.[4]

The passenger terminal is a single-story building that accommodates both arrivals and departures for domestic and international flights. It features a departure concourse with four gates without jetbridges, a VIP lounge, check-in areas, security zones, baggage claim areas, an arrivals hall, car rental services, taxi stands, and various retail stores. Adjacent to the terminal, other facilities include a hotel,[5] parking areas, civil aviation hangars, and designated spaces for general aviation.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroméxico Connect Mexico City (resumes June 20, 2024),[6] Mexico City–AIFA (ends June 19, 2024)[6]
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth
United Express Houston–Intercontinental
Viva Aerobus Chicago–O'Hare, Monterrey, Tijuana
Volaris Cancún, Chicago–Midway, Chicago–O'Hare, Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Jose (CA), Tijuana
Check-in area
Departures concourse
American Airlines Airbus A320 at MLM
United Express ERJ175LR at MLM
Volaris A319 and Aeromexico Connect Embraer 170 parked at the gates.
Volaris A319 at MLM
Volaris A319 at MLM
Volaris A319 at MLM
Volaris is the largest operator at Morelia International Airport

Destinations map

class=notpageimage|
Domestic destinations from Morelia International Airport
Red = Year-round destination
Blue = Future destination
Green = Seasonal destination
class=notpageimage|
International destinations from Morelia International Airport
Red = Year-round destination
Blue = Future destination
Green = Seasonal destination
MLM destinations in 2016

Statistics

Passengers

Morelia Airport Passengers. See Wikidata query.

Busiest routes

Busiest routes from Morelia International Airport (2023)[7]
Rank City Passengers Ranking Airline
1  Baja California, Tijuana 294,083 Steady Viva Aerobus, Volaris
2  United States, Chicago (O'Hare and Midway)[a] 104,910 Steady Viva Aerobus, Volaris
3  Mexico City, Mexico City 54,398 Increase 9 Aeroméxico Connect
4  United States, Los Angeles 37,977 Decrease 1 Volaris
5  United States, Dallas 37,255 Steady American Airlines, American Eagle
6  United States, Oakland 34,036 Decrease 2 Volaris
7  United States, San Jose 25,124 Decrease 1 Volaris
8  United States, Fresno 25,049 Decrease 1 Volaris
9  Quintana Roo, Cancún 25,044 Steady Volaris
10  United States, Houston 21,611 Decrease 2 United Express
11  Nuevo León, Monterrey 18,877 Steady Viva Aerobus
12  Baja California, Mexicali 17,201 Decrease 2 Volaris
Notes
  1. ^ The official statistics combine both O'Hare and Midway airports.

Accidents and incidents

  • 9 September 1978 - A de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter of Lineas Aéreas del Centro flying scheduled service to the old Morelia Airport from Mexico City, crashed shortly after takeoff from Mexico City International Airport. There were 18 fatalities among the 21 passengers.[8] The aircraft was also damaged beyond repair.[9]
  • 20 October 2002 - Aerolíneas Internacionales Flight 888, a Boeing 727-100 scheduled to fly from Morelia to León/Guanajuato, allegedly encountered 9 small, spherical UFOs prior to its 10AM takeoff roll. As reported by the crew and a witness on the ground, the sighting lasted around 10 minutes, with said objects maneuvering simultaneously. After the objects moved away, the flight was able to continue without further incident.[10][11]
  • 19 September 2010 - Aeroméxico Flight 6531, bound to Morelia from Las Vegas, suffered a fuel leak. The Boeing 737-700 returned to Las Vegas for an emergency landing. There were no fatalities among the 102 passengers.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "GAP Traffic Report 2023" (PDF). Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico. January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Estadística Operacional de Aeropuertos / Statistics by Airport". Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  3. ^ "V de Volaris Magazine May 2019 by HCP Media - Issuu". Archived from the original on 17 June 2019.
  4. ^ "About the airport".
  5. ^ "hotel aeropuerto morelia".
  6. ^ a b "Aeroméxico flight from AICM to Morelia returns: Sectur Michoacán". CB Digital (in Spanish). April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Estadística operacional por origen-destino / Traffic Statistics by City Pairs" (in Spanish). Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil. January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  8. ^ "List of Mexican Disasters". Blogspot. December 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2016. [unreliable source?]
  9. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  10. ^ Valencia, Henry Rivera (4 September 2015). Secretos AlienÃgenas - Gobiernos - Vaticano. ISBN 9781329533455.
  11. ^ "El Universal - - Avistan Ovnis en aeropuerto de Morelia".
  12. ^ "Incident: Aeromexico B737 at Las Vegas on Sep 19th 2010, fuel leak". avherald.com. Retrieved 4 March 2020.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morelia_International_Airport