La Chinita International Airport
La Chinita International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional La Chinita | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | BAER (state owner by a Venezuelan government) | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Maracaibo | ||||||||||||||
| Location | San Francisco, Zulia | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | 16 November 1969 | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | Venezolana | ||||||||||||||
| Focus city for | Conviasa | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 235 ft / 72 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 10°33′30″N 71°43′40″W / 10.55833°N 71.72778°W | ||||||||||||||
| Website | https://baer.gob.ve/aeropuerto-internacional-la-chinita/ | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
MAR Location of the airport in Venezuela | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2008) | |||||||||||||||
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| Sources:,[1] WAD,[2] Google Maps[3] | |||||||||||||||
La Chinita International Airport (IATA: MAR, ICAO: SVMC) is an international airport serving Maracaibo, the capital of Zulia State, Venezuela. It is located southwest of Maracaibo proper in the municipality of San Francisco. La Chinita is Venezuela's second most important airport in terms of passenger and aircraft movements, after Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas.
History
This airport construction was accelerated due to the accident of Viasa Flight 742 on 16 March 1969, resulting in the death of 155 people and the closure of Grano de Oro Airport, which is located too close to the city centre and surrounded by neighborhoods.[4] The airport opened on 16 November 1969, during the administration of President Rafael Caldera, to open a gateway to the western part of the country and to alleviate congestion from Simón Bolívar International Airport, which manages about half of the international flights in Venezuela.
Facilities
Runway 03L/21R length does not include a 300 metres (980 ft) paved overrun on the north end. The Maracaibo VORTAC (Ident: MAR) is located 0.81 nautical miles (1.50 km) northeast of the threshold of Runway 21R.[5]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aeroregional | Charter: Quito[6] |
| Aerolíneas Estelar | Caracas, Santa Barbara del Zulia |
| Avior Airlines | Caracas |
| Air Century | Punta Cana, Santo Domingo (both begin 3 April 2026)[7] |
| Conviasa | Caracas, Ciudad Guayana, Maturín, Porlamar |
| Copa Airlines | Panama City–Tocumen[8] |
| LASER Airlines | Caracas |
| RUTACA Airlines | Caracas |
| Turpial Airlines | Valencia (VE) |
| Venezolana | Caracas, Porlamar |
Cargo
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aerosucre | Bogotá[9] |
Accidents and incidents
- On 1 November 1971, Vickers Viscount YV-C-AMZ of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana crashed shortly after take-off. All four people on board were killed.[10]
- On March 5, 1991, Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108 crashed in to a nearby mountain soon after takeoff, killing all 45 passenger and crew.[11]
See also
References
- ^ Dirección de Operaciones
- ^ World Data Aero
- ^ Google Maps - La Chinita
- ^ "All sizes | Maracaibo Grano De Oro 1960_0001 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". www.flickr.com. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ^ "MAR @ OurAirports". ourairports.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ^ "Anuncian vuelos chárter directos entre Quito y Maracaibo durante el mes de febrero". Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "Air Century will connect Santo Domingo and Punta Cana with Venezuela starting in April". Arecoa. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "Panama's Copa Airlines to launch flights between Panama City, Venezuela's Maracaibo".
- ^ "Rutas". Aerosucre.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 YV-23C Valera". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
External links
- Airport information for MAR at Great Circle Mapper.
- SkyVector - La Chinita
- OurAirports - La Chinita
- OpenStreetMap - La Chinita