Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport (IATA: CLO, ICAO: SKCL) also known as Palmaseca International Airport is an airport located in Palmira, Colombia, serving Cali and its suburbs. It is Colombia's third largest airport in terms of passengers, transporting 2,667,526 in 2009. Cali airport is the alternative airport to Bogotá Eldorado airport and other Colombian airports.

Alfonso Bonilla Aragón is located in a long valley that runs from north to south, and is surrounded by mountains up to 14,000 feet (4,000 m) high. An (H24) airport strategically located in the Western Hemisphere for flights of the transcontinental zone of the pacific coast that connects North America with South America. It is located at approximately 5 hours flight from Santiago de Chile, 50 minutes from Quito, Ecuador, and 3 hours 18 minutes to Miami airport. The airport has one runway, 9,842 feet (3000 m) in length. This runway is paved, and at an elevation of 3,162 feet (964 m). The runway can serve aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 747. It is equipped with the following navigation aids: Primary radar, secondary radar, ILS, ALS, PAPI, VOR, NDB, DME, RVR, center lights, threshold lights, and taxiway lights. The airport has a SEI IX protection.

Alfonso Bonilla airport is notable in that it is one of the few secondary airports in Latin America open 24 hours a day. Airport meteorological conditions are excellent, it is in operation at all the time during the year. The nearest city is Cali at 12 miles away, which allow the airport to operates without any environmental restrictions. Daily it has direct flights to the United States and Europe and others international connecting flights.

History

On April 21, 1921 landed in the city of Cali, the first airplane, a Macchi-Hanriot HD-1, made in Italy and called the "Telegraph I" under the command pilot on the grounds Ferruccio Guicciardi called located between the Champs Long careers current 8th and 12th and 26th and 28th streets. Sponsored by the Ecuadorian newspaper El Telegraph, Guicciardi had started its raid in the city of Guayaquil and Quito and had flown to Pasto to get to Cali. The Department of Valle and the City Council had offered a lucrative prize of $ 9,500 pesos to the first pilot to land in the city. This was followed by aerial activity in the capital of Valle del Cauca. In the same airfield operated years later the first aircraft wheels SCADTA Company.

Years later, following the conflict with Peru in 1932, President Enrique Olaya Herrera sought the help of engineers and pilots SCADTA to find a suitable site to build an airport to support military operations south of the country air . The famous German pilot Herbert Boy, after evaluating several alternatives, he settled on the land called "El Guabito" because of its location, proximity to the city and its proximity to the road that stretched into Juanchito Antioquia Avenue. He quickly proceeded to the suitability and land leveling, using a bulldozer in the municipality. There was established the fledgling Air Force Base and Air National Guard gave the service on September 21, 1933. Until there came the planes and then SCADTA Panagra planes, TACA de Colombia, and VIARCO SAETA.

However, the company Panagra initiative and with its own budget, we looked for a suitable place to build an airport to meet their international flights to Panama joined with the southern continent with a stop in Cali, as well as domestic flights of Avianca. Hence they acquired the lands of "The glial" located in the municipality of Candelaria to 18 miles from the center of the city of Cali. Thus was inaugurated on April 17, 1947 the facilities of the modern "Calipuerto". The airport passed to the Colombian state in the 50s when the RCTs and was subsequently taken over by the Civil Aeronautics in 1968. It should be noted that in 1946, the company VIARCO valle, under the management of Ricardo A. Deeb, following a policy of expanding it, was determined to build its own airport in the city of Cali. The airport would be open to all companies in the country, except Avianca. In November 1946, the aviation authority requested the inspection of construction of the new airport "El Limón", located in Pasoancho. In early 1947, the works were completed at the airport, which was put in service equipped with the most modern facilities and equipment available at the time. Here they also operate LANSA and other smaller companies, which until then used military facilities in El Guabito, which I later called the Marco Fidel Suarez AFB. The Limonar was closed in 1954, when operations became Calipuerto LANSA, concluding stage of merger with Avianca. The city of Cali, like Bogota, managed to have three active airports simultaneously. At present, where he was Calipuerto works Abastos Center in Cali, Cavas.

The history of the new airport serving the city of Cali, dates back to the Valle large enforceable in sports: the VI Pan American Games, whose head was given to the departmental capital. The simple allocation of the seat of an event of such magnitude and Valle forced the national government to think big and commit to building the long-awaited project. ACE in the mid-sixties had acquired the land from the hacienda Palmaseca, located in the town of Palmira. It was not easy to develop the work, because then there were also external financial difficulties and had to resort to the central government for resources by $ 35 million dollars that enabled the realization of the architectural and aviation safety. There was also need to build the road to join Palmaseca road trip Cali-Yumbo.

Palmaseca International Airport was inaugurated on July 24, 1971 during the government of President Misael Pastrana Borrero, and had a runway of 3000 meters, taxiways, aircraft parking platform and a satellite terminal building for attention of domestic and international passengers. A large room for the movement of passengers and visitors and attention to passenger counters, restaurants and shops. At that time it was thought that the airport was oversized, but soon grew air operations, as the number of passengers. Given the airport facilities and technical equipment, it soon became the Eldorado alternate airport, operating 24 hours. The airport name was changed to "Alfonso Bonilla Aragón" in honor of a civic leader and journalist vallecaucano, promoting the construction of the terminal, creating much controversy in the public eye. Even the Business Committee and the Cali Chamber of Commerce asked the government in June 1989 to intercede with the Civil Aeronautics to return the original name "Palmaseca".

Structure and Capacity

• The airport has a runway of 9842 feet (3000 m) in length.

• The track is paved, and has an elevation of 3162 feet (962 m). On the runway of the airport can go to a Boeing 747. It is one of the airports in Latin America that operates 24 hours, 7 days, which works in many cases as the alternate airport in Bogotá.

• Loading facilities feature a 747 freighter dock, bonded warehouse, transit zone, free port and trade zone, mechanical steering, health officials, security for valuables, express and messenger center

• The airline Avianca has its own lounge with different services such as Wi-Fi, different environments, satellite television, bar meals and entertainment of different materials.

Services

There are car hire desks of the most recognized companies. The airport also offers ATMs, currency exchange services, public phones and Wi-Fi.

• Gastronomía: restaurants, cafés and bar.
• Shopping: Souvenir items, press and snuff.
• Baggage: In case of loss or damage in whole or part of the luggage on board, go on a passenger ticket and baggage held, the counter of the airline concerned or, failing in the information desk.
• Parking: The parking area in front of the terminal and there are parking spaces for the disabled.
• Hotels: There are no hotels within the Cali airport. Check-in counters and general tourist information for booking of hotels and transfers.

Airlines and destinations

Cargo Airlines

• Tampa Cargo
• Atlas Air
• AeroSucre
• Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas
• Martinair Cargo

Accidents and incidents

• On 3 May, Douglas C-47B FAC-1126 of SATENA was damaged beyond repair in an accident at Palmaseca Airport.
• On 21 January 1974, a Vickers Viscount of Aeropesca Colombia was hijacked and diverted to Cali.
• On December 20, 1995, American Airlines Flight 965 en route from Miami to Bonilla Airport crashed into a mountain near Cali due to pilot error.

Sources

1. ^ "FAC-1126 Accident report". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19830503-0. Retrieved 27 July 2010. 
2. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19740121-1. Retrieved 8 October 2009. 

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