Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport

Varadero International Airport Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport
IATA: VRA ICAO: MUVR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	ECASA S.A.
Serves	Varadero and Matanzas
Location	5 km from Carbonera
Elevation AMSL	64 m / 210 ft
Coordinates	23°02′04″N 81°26′07″W
Map
MUVR Location in Cuba
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 06/24 3,502 11,490 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Number of Passengers 2,515,308
Source: Aerodrome chart[1]

Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (IATA: VRA, ICAO: MUVR), formerly known as Varadero Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto de Varadero), is an international airport serving Varadero, Cuba, and the province of Matanzas. The airport is located 5 km from the village of Carbonera, closer to the city of Matanzas than to Varadero. The closest airport to Varadero is Kawama Airport. In 2009, the airport handled 1.28 million passengers,^[2] making it the second busiest airport in Cuba after José Martí International Airport in Havana.

History

Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport was built in 1989 and inaugurated by Fidel Castro,^[3] thus replacing the old Varadero airport located in Santa Marta, currently known as Kawama Airport. The airport was named after a journalist, fighter for the Cuban Independence and black rights activist in Cuba Juan Gualberto Gómez (1854–1933).^[4]

Bust of Juan Gualberto Gómez at the Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport commemorating the inauguration of the airport in 1989.

The terminal building has shops for tourists (including rum, cigars, T-shirts, books, carvings, pharmaceuticals) both before customs check point, at a large departures lounge with cafeterias on the upper level and a smaller air conditioned VIP lounge the lower level.^[5]

Immigration checkpoint consists of wooden booths for push doors opened by immigration officers after travelers have been processed.^[6] Customs check point consists of three x-ray machines. Two flights of stairs and an escalator take travelers to the departure lounge. Tour operators offices are located near the domestic terminal area.

The ground handling equipment is imported mainly from North America. There are four jet bridges (serving parking areas 2 to 5), but air stairs are used for the remaining aircraft parking space #1 on the apron by the terminal.^[7]

Airlines and destinations

Departures area interior

Departures area interior

In April 2020, Cuba stopped all scheduled flights. In October 2020, it was announced that the airport would be reopening for flights with tourists being restricted to a "bubble", but before that began, the province moved to the "new normality" and the airport reopened for regular commercial flights, with flights from Mexico and the UK.^[8]

Airlines	Destinations
Aeroflot	Seasonal: Moscow–Sheremetyevo[9]
Air Canada Rouge	Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Air Transat	Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson Seasonal: Halifax, Moncton, Ottawa, Québec City
American Airlines	Miami
Azur Air	Charter: Moscow–Vnukovo (suspended)
Condor	Frankfurt
Edelweiss Air	Seasonal: Zürich
Iberojet	Seasonal: Lisbon
LOT Polish Airlines	Seasonal charter: Katowice, Poznań, Warsaw–Chopin
Magnicharters	Seasonal: Monterrey
Neos	Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa
Nordwind Airlines	Seasonal charter: Moscow–Sheremetyevo
OWG	Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Servicios Aéreos Profesionales	Punta Cana
Sunclass Airlines	Seasonal charter: Copenhagen, Stockholm–Arlanda
Sunwing Airlines	Montreal–Trudeau, Québec City, Toronto–Pearson Seasonal: Bagotville, Calgary, Deer Lake, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton (ON), Kitchener/Waterloo, London (ON), Moncton, Ottawa, Regina, St. John's, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Vancouver, Windsor, Winnipeg
TUI fly Belgium	Brussels
TUI fly Netherlands	Amsterdam
WestJet	Calgary, Toronto–Pearson
World2Fly	Charter: Lisbon[10]

Accidents and incidents

There have been five significant incidents involving aircraft from or en route to the airport since the 1950s. Only 1 flight involved resulted in fatalities. Three flights involved Cubans hijacking an aircraft to flee to the United States.^{[citation needed]}

• 6 March 2005 - Air Transat Flight 961 Airbus A310 returned safely to airport following detachment of rudder after takeoff.^{[citation needed]}

• 29 December 1992 - Aerocaribbean Antonov 26 was hijacked en route to Varadero Airport from Havana. The aircraft landed in Miami.^[11]

References

1. Aerodrome chart Archived 2011-06-26 at the Wayback Machine issued 10 May 2007
2. "www.radioangulo.cu - Servicios Archivo Aeropuerto de Varadero entre los mejores del país (Spanish only)". ^{[permanent dead link]}
3. "DISCURSO PRONUNCIADO POR FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, PRESIDENTE DE LA REPÚBLICA CUBA, EN LA INAUGURACION DEL AEROPUERTO INTERNACIONAL DE VARADERO "JUAN GUALBERTO GOMEZ", EL 25 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1989, "AÑO 31 DE LA REVOLUCION"". www.cuba.cu.
4. "Varadero Airport VRA".
5. "Varadero Airport VRA".
6. "Immigration / Customs | Cuba".
7. "Varadero Airport VRA".
8. "Cuba's Varadero destination reopened with British tourists". 26 October 2020.
9. "Aeroflot Adds Varadero Service From July 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
10. "World2Fly Schedules Orlando Sanford Charters June - August 2022".
11. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Antonov 26 CU-T110 Miami International Airport, FL (MIA)". aviation-safety.net.

External links

• Cubana destinations and airports