Buenos Aires Aeroparque

  1947 to present

  Argentina

CITY: Buenos Aires

IATA/ICAO CODES: AEP / SABE

COORDINATES: 34°34'S / 58°25'W

OTHER NAMES: Aeroparque 17 de Octubre (1947-1955), Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (1955-present), Aeroparque (nickname)

Plans to build an airport close to downtown Buenos Aires go back to 1925. However, actual construction of the airport only began in 1945 on land reclaimed in 1916 from the Rio de la Plata. It was inaugurated in 1947 as Aeroparque 17 de Octubre, with a 1,000-meter runway.

Flight operations started in January 1948, and Aeroparque soon became the main hub for domestic flights from Buenos Aires as well as flights to Uruguay. The first terminal was completed in 1951, by which time the runway was extended to 1,550 meters. The airport was renamed following the 1955 coup against President Juan Peron in honor Argentinian aviation pioneer Jorge Newbery. The Argentine Air Force had a small base built near the eastern end of the airport in 1965. A new terminal for national airline Aerolineas Argentinas was inaugurated in 1981, expanding total terminal area to 30,000 m².

Aeroparque still serves today as the capital's domestic airport, with roughly as many yearly passengers as Ezeiza International.

TSA (Transcontinental SA) (September 1956 to August 1962)

ALA (Austral Lineas Aereas) (February 1957 to present)