Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto de La Rioja - Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid), (IATA: IRJ, ICAO: SANL) is the main airport in La Rioja Province, Argentina serving the city of La Rioja. The airport is on the northeast side of the city.
The airport was named after the Argentine aviation pioneer Vicente Almandos Almonacid (es) (1882–1953).
History
The airport was built in 1948, and was officially inaugurated with an LADE Vickers Viking flight on October 11, 1948 (linking La Rioja with Buenos Aires vía Río Cuarto, San Luis, Santa Rosa, and Córdoba). The first terminal was constructed in 1951. In 1952, Aerolíneas Argentinas started flying to La Rioja.
In 1969, the old north-south grass runway was replaced by the current asphalt Runway 03/21. In 1978, a new 940 m2 (10,100 sq ft) passenger terminal and 70 car parking lot were added. In 1990, the terminal was air conditioned.
The La Rioja VOR and non-directional beacon (Idents: LAR) are located on the field.
Since March 16, 1999, it has been operated by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000.
A virtual airline named Alas La Rioja once operatedout of this aitport, before cancelling flights in 2023.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics
See also
- Transport in Argentina
- List of airports in Argentina
References
External links
- OpenStreetMap - Capitán Vicente A. Almonacid Airport
- OurAirports - Capitan V A Almonacid Airport
- Current weather for SANL at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for IRJ at Aviation Safety Network
