Silvio Pettirossi International Airport

Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (IATA: ASU, ICAO: SGAS) is Paraguay's main national and international gateway, located at Luque, serving the capital city, Asunción. It is named after the Paraguayan aviator Silvio Pettirossi and was formerly known as President Stroessner International Airport, after Paraguay's former head of state General Alfredo Stroessner.
In 2017, Pettirossi handled a record 1.2 million passengers, making it the busiest airport in the country. It is the main international hub for LATAM Paraguay and Paranair.

Silvio Pettirossi International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional Silvio Pettirossi
Front view of ASU Terminal
Summary
Airport typePublic
ServesAsunción
LocationLuque, Paraguay
Hub for
Elevation AMSL89 m / 291 ft
Coordinates25°14′23″S 057°31′09″W
WebsiteDINAC
Map
ASU
Location of airport in Paraguay
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
02/20 3,353 11,000 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2018)
Passengers 1,211,576
Aircraft Operations 52,913
Cargo (tn) 13,397
Statistics: DINAC[1]

History

The airport serves as hub for LATAM Paraguay, formerly known as TAM Paraguay, TAM Mercosur and LAP (Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas).

The terminal building splits into two international concourses, the north concourse with 2 gates (5 and 6) and the south concourse with 4 gates (1 to 4). The airport is being expanded to accommodate more gates.

Iberia provided direct flights to Asunción from Madrid from 1966 (or perhaps 1968) till the mid-nineties.[2] Lufthansa flew once a week from Frankfurt to Asunción from 1971 to 1980, with DC-10 service starting in 1974.[3] For both airlines, the flights included multiple destinations in South America.

On 17 December 2015, the first Air Europa flight arrived from Madrid, Spain to the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Luque and provided the first direct connection between Paraguay and Europe in 21 years.[4]

Accessibility and location

The airport, located within Luque, may be reached from the city of Asuncion via the Aviadores del Chaco Avenue, which runs adjacent to nearby Ñu Guasú Park. Asuncion's local bus line 30-A links the city center with the airport's terminal. The airport is also near the headquarters of CONMEBOL, the continental governing body of association football in South America.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Aerolíneas Argentinas Buenos Aires–Ezeiza
Air Europa Córdoba, Madrid, Puerto Iguazú
Amaszonas Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru
Amaszonas Uruguay Montevideo, Punta del Este, Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru
Avianca Bogotá
Copa Airlines Panama City
Flybondi Buenos Aires–El Palomar
Gol Airlines São Paulo–Guarulhos
LATAM Brasil São Paulo–Guarulhos
LATAM Paraguay Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Lima, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo–Guarulhos
Paranair Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Ciudad del Este, Curitiba, Iquique, Montevideo
Seasonal: Florianópolis, Punta del Este, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
Avianca Cargo Montevideo
LATAM Cargo Brasil Medellín-JMC

Statistics

These data show number of passengers movements into the airport, according to the Dirección Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil's Aviation Sector Summary Reports.

Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Passengers733,810823,207868,534835,323915,425910,5541,033,1681,180,1111,211,576
Growth (%) 23.29% 12.2% 5.51% 3.82% 9.59% 0.53% 13.47% 14.22% 2.67%
Source: Dirección Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil (DINAC). Aviation Sector Reports (2010-2018)[5]

Top routes
Busiest routes from Asunción[6]
Rank City Flights/week Carriers
1 Buenos Aires–Ezeiza 40 Aerolíneas Argentinas, LATAM Paraguay
2 São Paulo–Guarulhos 32 Gol, LATAM Paraguay
3 Montevideo 19 Amaszonas Uruguay, Paranair
4 Panama City 16 Copa Airlines
5 Santa Cruz–Viru Viru 13 Amaszonas
6 Lima 12 Avianca Peru, LATAM Paraguay
7 Encarnación 10 Paranair, Sol del Paraguay
8 Ciudad del Este 9 Paranair, Sol del Paraguay
9 Santiago 8 LATAM Paraguay
10 Madrid 7 AirEuropa

Accidents and incidents
  • 16 June 1955: a Panair do Brasil Lockheed L-049/149 Constellation registration PP-PDJ operating flight 263 from São Paulo-Congonhas to Asunción hit a 12m tree while on final approach to land at Asunción. Part of the wing broke off, the aircraft crashed and caught fire. Of the 24 passengers and crew aboard, 16 died.[7][8]
  • 27 August 1980: Transporte Aéreo Militar – TAM Paraguayo, a Douglas C-47B registration FAP2016 crashed on approach to Silvio Pettirossi International Airport. The aircraft was on a flight to Ayolas when an engine failed shortly after take-off and the decision was made to land back at Asunción. One person was killed.[9]
  • 4 February 1996: LAC Colombia Flight 028, a cargo Douglas DC-8-55F registration HK-3979X flying from Asunción to Campinas on an empty positioning flight from Asunción. At VR power was reduced on no. 1 engine and, after rotation, also on the no. 2 engine. With the gear still down and flaps at 15° the aircraft lost control and crashed on a playing field 2 km past the runway. The crew possibly used the positioning flight as an opportunity for crew training. All four occupants of the aircraft and 20 persons on the ground died.[10]
  • A vintage aircraft on display in the main concourse

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  1. "Aeropuerto Internacional "Silvio Pettirossi"" (PDF) (in Spanish). Departamento de Estadística de la Aviación Civil. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  2. "A 50 años del primer vuelo de Iberia a Asunción". 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  3. "Un día como hoy de 1974 Lufthansa llegaba a Asunción con DC10". 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. Color, ABC. "Llegó a Paraguay primer vuelo de Air Europa - Nacionales - ABC Color". Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  5. "Datos Estadísticos mensuales del Transporte Aéreo Comercial en Paraguay". www.dinac.gov.py.
  6. "Asuncion Silvio Pettirossi International Airport". flightradar24. January 2018. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  7. "Accident description PP-PDJ". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  8. Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Noite do Paraguai". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 145–149. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  9. "FAP2016 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  10. "Accident description HK-3979X". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2011.

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