The airport is the largest hub for Volaris, serving as the airline’s main gateway to the United States.[3] It is also a hub for Viva, and a focus city for Aeroméxico. Additionally, it supports charter flights, flight training programs, and general aviation activities. Guadalajara International Airport is operated by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) and is named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a key figure in the Mexican War of Independence. In 2024, it handled 17,848,700 passengers, marking a 0.78% increase from the previous year.[1]
History
Early operations
The Guadalajara Airport was inaugurated on March 1, 1951, featuring two asphalt runways, an apron, and a small passenger terminal. The opening ceremony was officiated by President Miguel Alemán Valdés.[4]
Guadalajara Airport has undergone significant expansions since its early days. In 1966, operations were briefly suspended due to safety concerns raised by the Technical Commission of the Mexican Pilots Association (Spanish: Asociación Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores de México ASPA).[citation needed] Urgent repairs were carried out, with airlines temporarily redirected to the Zapopan Air Force Base. The renovation efforts included enlarging the original 2,200 metres (7,200ft) runway 10/28. By 1968, the runway was reconstructed and extended to 4,000 metres (13,000ft), coinciding with the reconstruction of the airport's passenger building.[citation needed]
The airport was reinaugurated as the new Miguel Hidalgo International Airport. This transformation allowed it to accommodate wide-body aircraft and was executed largely using existing infrastructure, with the old runway, apron, and building repurposed for general aviation. Throughout the following years, the airport underwent further transformations. In 1973, runways, taxiways, aprons, passenger buildings, parking lots, a control tower, and fuel storage areas were completely renovated or newly constructed.[citation needed] Technological enhancements, such as jetbridges, high-intensity lights, visual approach slope indicator (VASI) and runway end identifier lights (REIL), were implemented to ensure operational efficiency and safety.[citation needed]
Hub operations
In the 1980s, Mexicana, a key player in the country's aviation industry, began a decentralization effort to address congestion at Mexico City International Airport. Guadalajara, alongside airports like Monterrey and Mérida, played a pivotal role in accommodating additional routes and frequencies to alleviate pressure on the capital's airport.[citation needed] As part of this initiative, a Maintenance Base was inaugurated in 1988. This facility had the capacity to service ten Boeing 727-200 aircraft and two DC-10s, constituting a significant portion (approximately 23%) of the airline's fleet. Until Mexicana's bankruptcy, the airport served as a hub for the airline, functioning as one of its gateways to the United States.[citation needed]
In 1994, expansion and adaptation projects were funded by Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares (ASA), leading to significant improvements in the passenger terminal and departures concourse.[citation needed] The apron was extended, and two taxiways were added. A transformative year came in 1995 with the publication of the 'Ley de Aeropuertos' (Airports Law) by the Department of Communications and Transportation (Spanish: Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transporte), marking the inception of Mexico's airport privatization program. In 1999, Guadalajara Airport joined Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), a consortium headquartered in Guadalajara.[citation needed]
The airport served as a hub for Aero California from its establishment in 1960 until its bankruptcy in 2006.[citation needed] In the 2000s, it also served as the primary hub and secondary hub for the now-defunct regional airlines ALMA and Aeromar. In 2010, Volaris commenced service to Guadalajara, absorbing routes from the defunct Aerocalifornia and Mexicana.[citation needed] This marked the establishment of what is now Volaris' largest hub.
Passenger terminal
Expansion challenges and local concerns
In 2020, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico announced an investment of 14 billion pesos in Guadalajara Airport. This funding was allocated to key developments, including the construction of a new runway on the northern side of the airport, which would convert the terminal and other buildings into midfield facilities. Other developments include improved terminal access, an expanded parking lot, a hotel, an office complex, and a solar power plant. The comprehensive expansion project is slated for completion by 2024.[6]
Despite the promising vision, the expansion faced setbacks due to resident conflicts. Protests disrupted parking access, and residents claimed that Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico still owed for land expropriated in 1975. This dispute delayed the construction of the second runway and raised the possibility of further expropriations.[citation needed]
In December 2021, Guadalajara Airport achieved a significant milestone with the introduction of Aeroméxico's nonstop flights to Madrid, operated by a Boeing 787. This marked the airport's first direct connection to Europe.[7]
In July 2023, GAP inaugurated a second parallel runway (3,538 metres (11,608ft) long, 45 metres (148ft) wide) 270 metres (890ft) north of runway 11/29. While it does not allow simultaneous operations, it facilitates segregated operations, with one runway dedicated to departures and the other to arrivals, enabling up to 60 operations per hour.[8]
Expansion plans moved forward with a $1.26 billion USD investment, part of a larger $2.52 billion USD master plan for 2025–2029. The acquisition of 285 hectares (700 acres) of surrounding land, which had previously been a point of contention, was resolved, providing space for a potential third runway.[9] The project also includes a $1.07 billion USD investment in a new 69,000 square metres (740,000sqft) terminal, increasing capacity by 70%.[10]
Facilities
Terminal mapDepartures concourse C
The airport is located in the municipality of Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, approximately 17 kilometres (11mi) southeast of Downtown Guadalajara. Situated within built-up areas of the Metropolitan zone, the airport is situated at an elevation1,529 metres (5,016ft) above sea level, featuring two asphalt runways: Runway 11R/29L measuring 4,000 metres (13,000ft), and Runway 11L/29R 3,538 metres (11,608ft).
Passenger Terminal
The airport's single terminal spans an area of 89,300 square metres (961,000sqft) and is currently undergoing renovations. Operating as a two-story facility, the terminal facilitates domestic and international flights. The ground floor encompasses arrival amenities, including baggage claim carousels, domestic check-in sections, and a commercial corridor housing snack kiosks, banks, souvenir shops, and car rental services. The upper floor features security checkpoints and a departures area extending 630 metres (2,070ft), housing food courts, restaurants, and 43 gates distributed across four concourses:
Concourse D: Ground Floor, Bus gates D40 - D50[11]Volaris Airbus A320-271N N530VL at GDLAeromexico Boeing B737-9 MAX XA-HSB at GDL
Various VIP lounges, such as the Aeroméxico Salón Premier, Citibanamex Salón Beyond, VIP Lounge East, and VIP Lounge West, are available within the passenger terminal. Additionally, nearby hotel services include City Express Guadalajara Aeropuerto, Hampton Inn by Hilton Guadalajara-Aeropuerto, and Hangar Inn.[12]
Other facilities
Air Force Station No. 1 (Spanish: Estación Aérea Militar N.º 1 Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara) (E.A.M. 1) is situated on the airport grounds.[13] Adjacent facilities encompass a maintenance base for Volaris, Aeromexico, an FBO terminal, a general aviation apron with several hangars, and a cargo terminal, recently expanded to store approximately 350,000 tons of goods annually within its 27,000 square metres (290,000sqft).[citation needed] The cargo terminal features six positions capable of handling various wide-body aircraft.
European destinations from Guadalajara International Airport Red = Year-round destination Blue = Future destination Green = Seasonal destination
Statistics
Interior of the main terminalInterior of the main terminal
Passengers
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
↑ The official statistics combine both Midway and O'Hare airports.
Accidents and incidents
On June 2, 1958, Aeronaves de México Flight 111, a Lockheed L-749A Constellation (registration XA-MEV), crashed into La Latilla Mountain, 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the airport, shortly after takeoff for a flight to Mexico City, after the airliner's crew failed to follow the established climb-out procedure for the airport after taking off. The crash killed all 45 people on board, and two prominent American scientists – oceanographerTownsend Cromwell and fisheries scientistBell M. Shimada – were among the dead. It was the deadliest aviation accident in Mexican history at the time.[26][27][28]
On May 24, 1993, Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, the Archbishop of Guadalajara, and six other people were killed in a shootout between rival drug cartels in the airport parking lot.[29]
On September 16, 1998, Continental Airlines Flight 475, a Boeing 737-500 registered N20643 departed Houston–Intercontinental at 20:56 CDT for an IFR flight to Guadalajara. After executing a missed approach on their first ILS approach to Runway 28, the flight was vectored for a second approach to Runway 28. Second approach was reported by both pilots to be uneventful, the aircraft drifted to the left side of the runway after touchdown. Left main landing gear exited the hard surface of the runway approximately 2700 feet from the threshold and eventually, all 3 landing gears exited the 197-foot wide asphalt runway while the aircraft had substantial damages and was declared damaged beyond repair, all passengers survived.[30]
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