Punta Huete Airport

Punta Huete Airport Panchito Airport
IATA: none ICAO: MNFC
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	República de Nicaragua
Serves	Managua, Nicaragua
Location	San Francisco Libre
Elevation AMSL	217 ft / 66 m
Coordinates	12°21′12″N 86°11′00″W
Map
MNFC Location in Nicaragua
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 09/27 3,000 9,843 Concrete
Source: GCM[1] Google Maps[2] SkyVector[3]

Punta Huete Airport (ICAO: MNFC) is an airport located in the municipality of San Francisco Libre in Managua, Nicaragua. The airport is in a sparsely populated section of the municipality. The nearest town is San Benito, 14 kilometres (9 mi) to the east.

In 2010, a new VOR was installed on the field.^[4] The Managua VOR-DME (Ident: MGA) is located 12.7 nautical miles (24 km) south of the airport.^[5]

History

The Punta Huete Airport was built in the 80's for the landing of MiG 21 airplanes. After Humberto Ortega revealed that Nicaragua had approached France and the Soviet Union for Mirage or MiG fighter planes, the United States warned against introducing modern combat jets to the region. Although Nicaragua began construction of the new airbase with a longer runway and protective revetments, it did not succeed in acquiring new fighter aircraft.^[6]

In 2010, the airfield was renovated as a weather alternate for the Managua Airport. Located at the north shore of Lake Managua, the Punta Huete Airport could become a major airport in Nicaragua. The 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) runway allows the landing of all types of aircraft, including large airplanes such as the Boeing 747.^[7][8]

See also

• Nicaragua portal
• Aviation portal
• List of airports in Nicaragua
• Transport in Nicaragua

References

1. Airport information for Punta Huete Airport at Great Circle Mapper.
2. "Punta Huete Airport". Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
3. "Punta Huete Airport". SkyVector. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
4. "Punta Huete upgraded". EAAI. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
5. "Managua VOR". Our Airports. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
6. "U.S. Intelligence Says Sandinista Pilots Training Out Of Cuba With Mig-21 Jets". Archived from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
7. "Reopening of Punta Huete Airpor, known as "Panchito" in Nicaragua". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
8. Aeropuerto Punta Huete remozado (Spanish)

External links

• OpenStreetMap - Punta Huete Airport
• OurAirports - Punta Huete Airport
• Accident history for MNFC at Aviation Safety Network