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112-716: El Dorado International Airport ( IATA : BOG , ICAO : SKBO ) is an international airport serving Bogotá , the capital of Colombia , and its surrounding areas. The airport is located mostly in the Fontibón district of Bogotá, although it partially extends into the Engativá district and through the municipality of Funza in the Western Savanna Province of the Cundinamarca Department . It served over 39 million passengers in 2023 making it

224-657: A " Liaison Squadron " operating under direct orders of the President of the Republic, at the time, Gen. Gustavo Rojas Pinilla . The Squadron was located in the Airport of Techo, the first airport of Bogotá. Its success led to the creation of a Military Airlift Group, which reached the category of Transportation Base in 1959. By then El Dorado International Airport was finished, so the Colombian Air Force ordered

336-752: A CIA "command ship" with the loss of four Cuban aircrew. The CIA contracted pilots, some employed during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, to fly B-26Ks for ground attack against Simba rebels in the Congo Crisis . Newly remanufactured B-26K Counter-Invaders were delivered to the Congo via Hurlburt Field in 1964. In the 1950s, the French Air Force 's ( Armée de l'air ) bombing groups ( groupe de bombardement ) including Bombardment Group I/19 Gascogne (GB I/19) and GB 1/25 Tunisia , used B-26s, during

448-522: A day. The main passenger terminal is known as Terminal 1 (T1). The T1 building is shaped like a lowercase "h" and is divided into two piers or concourses: the international one to the north side and the domestic pier/concourse on the south side. Terminal 1 has four airline lounges (operated by LATAM, Avianca, and Copa), in addition to the El Dorado Lounge by Mastercard in the international concourse and one airline lounge (operated by Avianca) in

560-497: A dozen B-26 Invaders in support of rebel forces. On 18 May 1958, American contract pilot Allen Pope 's blacked-out B-26 was initially hit by antiaircraft ground fire and then brought down by a North American P-51 Mustang flown by Capt. Ignatius Dewanto (the only known air-to-air shoot-down in the history of the Indonesian Air Force ). The capture and trial of Lieutenant Pope brought a quick end to Operation Haik, but

672-439: A few hours, thus physically (and officially) changing the designation and operational role. The "flat-topped" canopy was changed in late 1944 after about 820 production aircraft, to a clamshell style with greatly improved visibility. Alongside the pilot in an A-26B, a crew member served as navigator and gun loader for the pilot-operated nose guns. In an A-26C, that crew member served as navigator and bombardier , and moved to

784-493: A few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

896-520: A formidable ground-attack aircraft. A redesignation of the type from A-26 to B-26 has led to confusion with the earlier and unrelated Martin B-26 Marauder , which had already been withdrawn from service when the designation was reused. The A-26 was Douglas Aircraft's successor to the A-20 (DB-7) Havoc, also known as Douglas Boston. Designed by Ed Heinemann , Robert Donovan, and Ted R. Smith ,

1008-567: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

1120-560: A pioneer store called Avianca store which sells different products including: toy airplanes, hats, umbrellas, clothing, stuffed toys, pens, mugs and other such products, all embossed with the company logo. The store was an instant success and the airline expanded the concept to various other cities in Colombia. On 28 April 2018, Avianca moved its entire domestic operation to Terminal 1 and local carriers Satena and EasyFly started operating from Puente Aéreo or Terminal 2 On 3 September 1932 it

1232-484: A second runway at El Dorado with concerns that the explosive growth would lead to over congestion in the future. In 1990, the Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics (Aerocivil) moved to the airport. In 1998, the airport's second runway was inaugurated, which has received much disagreement from the residents of the nearby area of Fontibón, due to the incessant air operations during

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1344-578: A wing during pull-out from a demonstration strafing pass. The aircraft was participating in a demonstration of the Special Air Warfare Center's counterinsurgency capabilities, and completed a strafing run demonstration before the incident. SAWC presented the demonstration on an average of twice each month for the previous two years. B-26 aircraft used by USAF Commandos in Vietnam were grounded 8 April 1964 following an investigation into

1456-509: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

1568-536: Is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II , the Invader also saw service during several major Cold War conflicts. A limited number of highly modified United States Air Force aircraft served in Southeast Asia until 1969. It was a fast aircraft capable of carrying a large bomb load. A range of guns could be fitted to produce

1680-586: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

1792-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

1904-543: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

2016-496: Is now one of two hubs operated by the carrier, the other being Avianca El Salvador 's hub at El Salvador International Airport . In 1981, Avianca undertook the construction of the Puente Aéreo Terminal inaugurated by President Julio César Turbay Ayala . The name Puente Aéreo means Air Bridge in English. Avianca's original purpose for the terminal was for flights serving Cali, Medellín, Miami and New York. During

2128-600: Is the most important hub for the Colombian flag-carrier Avianca and its subsidiaries Avianca Express and Avianca Cargo . It is also a base for LATAM Colombia , Satena , and a number of other airlines. It is owned by the Government of Colombia and operated by Operadora Aeroportuaria Internacional (OPAIN), a consortium composed of Colombian construction and engineering firms, and the Swiss company Flughafen Zürich AG ,

2240-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

2352-460: The 17th Bomb Wing . During their time as an active unit, the 452nd flew 15,000 sorties (7,000 at night) with a loss of 85 crewmen. B-26s were credited with the destruction of 38,500 vehicles, 406 locomotives, 3,700 railway trucks, and seven enemy aircraft on the ground. On 14 September 1951, Captain John S. Walmsley Jr. attacked a supply train. After all his guns simultaneously jammed, he illuminated

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2464-571: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

2576-728: The Douglas A-1 Skyraider . The B-26s were withdrawn from service in February 1964 after two accidents related to wing-spar fatigue, one during combat in Southeast Asia in August 1963 and one during a demonstration at Eglin AFB , Florida, in February 1964. On 11 February 1964, two pilots from the 1st Air Commando Wing stationed at Florida's Hurlburt Field died in the crash of a B-26 on Range 52 at Eglin AFB after it lost

2688-535: The Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific theater . The A-26 first saw action on 23 June 1944, when four aircraft attached to the 3rd Bombardment Group 's 13th Squadron ("The Grim Reapers"), bombed Japanese -held islands near Manokwari . Aircrew from "The Grim Reapers", while evaluating these four A-26Bs, noted that downward views from the cockpit were significantly hindered by the nature of

2800-629: The First Indochina War , lent to France by the USAF. Haiphong Cat Bi -based Douglas B-26 Invaders operated over Dien Bien Phu in March and April 1954 during the siege of Dien Bien Phu . In this period, a massive use of Philippines -based USAF B-29s against the Viet Minh heavy artillery, including the potential use of nuclear weapons, was planned by the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff with

2912-462: The Fuerza Aérea de Liberación (FAL) attacked three Cuban airfields to destroy FAR combat aircraft on the ground. On 17 April 1961, FAL B-26s supported the seaborne Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba. The conflict ended on 19 April, after the loss of nine FAL B-26s, ten Cuban exiles, and four American aircrew in combat. The FAR flew B-26Cs in the conflict, one of which was downed by friendly fire from

3024-509: The Ho Chi Minh trail . Two of these aircraft were modified with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system under project Lonesome Tiger, as a part of Operation Shed Light . In early 1961, about 20 B-26Bs, most converted from B-26C configuration, were "sanitized" at Duke Field (also known as Auxiliary Field Three at Eglin AFB), Florida. They had defensive armament removed, and were fitted with

3136-751: The Indonesian invasion of East Timor . In 1977, the last two flying aircraft were retired. The Portuguese Air Force purchased Invaders covertly for use in Portuguese Angola in 1965, during the Portuguese Colonial War . B-26s were used in support of the Dragon operations to liberate Western hostages held by Simba terrorists during the Congo Crisis. Biafra used two provisionally armed ("provo") B-26s in combat during

3248-624: The National Air and Space Museum . B-26 Invaders of the 3rd Bombardment Group , operating from bases in southern Japan, were among the first USAF aircraft engaged in the Korean War , carrying out missions over South Korea on 27 and 28 June, before carrying out the first USAF bombing mission on North Korea on 29 June 1950, bombing an airfield near Pyongyang . On 10 August 1950, the Air Force Reserve 's 452d Bombardment Wing

3360-624: The Nigerian Civil War in 1967, flown, among others, by Jan Zumbach . Many of the A-26/B-26 Invader's production run of 2,452 were early A-26Bs and A-26Cs. Since 1945, over 300 A-26s have been on the FAA U.S. Civil Aircraft Register. Perhaps up to 100 of those were probably only registered for ferry flights from USAF bases such as Davis-Monthan AFB , AZ, and Hill AFB , UT, to civil airports and stored as candidates for sale on

3472-481: The list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and the use of two letters allowed only

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3584-524: The propeller spinners on production aircraft. During testing, the nose wheel was found to be structurally inadequate and strengthened. The early A-26 versions were built in two forms After about 1,570 production aircraft, three guns were installed in each wing, coinciding with the introduction of the "eight-gun nose" for A-26Bs, giving some versions as many as 14 .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in fixed forward mounts. An A-26C nose section could be replaced with an A-26B nose section, or vice versa, in

3696-716: The 11 February incident. B-26 aircraft in use by the South Vietnamese Air Force were also grounded in accordance with the U.S. ruling. In response to this, the On Mark Engineering Company of Van Nuys, California , was selected by the USAF to extensively upgrade the Invader for its new counterinsurgency role. The first production flight of the B-26K was on 30 May 1964 at the Van Nuys Airport . On Mark converted 40 Invaders to

3808-576: The 2nd cleanest airport in Latin America by Skytrax in 2023. The airport was designed and built during the government of General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla as part of his campaign in modernize the country. Construction began in 1955 and entered in service by December 1959, replacing the aging Techo International Airport , which had been the city's main airport since 1930. Before its inauguration, Soledad International Airport in Barranquilla

3920-569: The 3rd Bomb Wing ( Kunsan (K-8) ) in night activity only, dividing the target areas, with the 452nd taking the eastern half and the 3rd the western. For their efforts in the Korean War, they received two unit citations and the Korean Presidential Citation. They also received credit for eight campaign operations. In May 1952, they were inactivated. Their aircraft and equipment along with their personnel were absorbed by

4032-508: The 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing flew critical weather observation and reconnaissance missions in supporting roles. The first B-26s to arrive in Southeast Asia deployed to Takhli RTAFB , Thailand in December 1960. These unmarked aircraft, operated under the auspices of the U.S. CIA ( Central Intelligence Agency ), were augmented by an additional 16 aircraft— 12 B-26Bs and B-26Cs plus four RB-26Cs under Operation Millpond . Their mission

4144-585: The A-26 Invader. The first group to convert to the A-26B was 416th Bombardment Group . With it, they entered combat on 17 November, and the 409th Bombardment Group , whose A-26s became operational in late November. Due to a shortage of A-26C variants, the groups flew a combined A-20/A-26 unit until deliveries of the glass-nosed version caught up. Besides bombing and strafing, tactical reconnaissance and night interdiction missions were successful. In contrast to

4256-462: The Colombian aviation pioneer, Honorary Brigadier General Camilo Daza Alvarez. In order to expand its capacity for troop and cargo transportation in support of surface forces, in their fight against subversion and drug trafficking, the Air Force acquired new C-130 Hercules aircraft that been used for security purposes but also for humanitarian assistance. Between 1990 and 1991 the base received from

4368-749: The DC-130A variant of the C-130 Hercules . The Navy designation was JD-1 and JD-1D until 1962, then the JD-1 was redesignated UB-26J. The JD-1D was also used under the designation of DB-26J. The CIA also used the type for covert operations. The last A-26 in active US service was assigned to the Air National Guard ; that aircraft was retired from military service in 1972 by the USAF and the National Guard Bureau , and donated to

4480-583: The French as Operation Vulture , but was cancelled by the governments, while at the conclusion of the battle, some of the beleaguered French troops managed to escape through the jungle to neighboring Thailand. Concerned about Indonesian President Sukarno 's communist leanings, the CIA started Operation Haik in 1958 to overthrow his Guided Democracy in Indonesia regime. The covert operation committed at least

4592-523: The IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn , is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as

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4704-634: The Invader's second combat test, so ferried A-26s arrived in Europe in late September 1944 for assignment to the Ninth Air Force . The initial deployment involved 18 aircraft and crews assigned to the 553d Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group. This unit flew their first mission on 6 September 1944. No aircraft were lost on the eight test missions, and the Ninth Air Force announced they were satisfied, eventually replacing their A-20s and B-26s with

4816-775: The On Mark Marketeer (1957), and the pressurized On Mark Marksman (1961) were products of this effort. A significant conversion was the Rock Island Monarch 26, while less numerous and more basic conversions for executive operations were carried out by Wold Engineering, LB Smith Aircraft Corp., R. G. LeTourneau Inc, Rhodes-Berry Company and Lockheed Aircraft Service Inc. Garrett AiResearch used two A-26 variants as testbeds for turbine engines; see also XA-26F above. Data from McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume I . General characteristics Performance Armament In July 2005,

4928-620: The Pacific that operated either the A-20 or B-25 received the A-26 for trials in limited quantities. The 319th Bomb Group was fully converted to the A-26 in March 1945, when it commenced operations with the 3rd BG. In August, after a few dozen A-26 missions, it became evident that the war was coming to an abrupt close, and operations began to wind down. The 319th officially ceased combat operations on 12 August 1945. Douglas needed better results from

5040-631: The Pacific-based units, the A-26 was well received by pilots and crew alike, and by 1945, the 9th AF had 11,567 missions, dropping 18,054 tons of bombs, recording seven confirmed kills while losing 67 aircraft. In Italy, the Twelfth Air Force 's 47th Bomb Group also received the A-26 starting in January 1945. They were used against German transport links, and for direct support and interdiction against tanks and troop concentrations in

5152-548: The Philippines for modifications, although not with night systems similar to those modified for Black Watch. The two aircraft returned from Black Watch to Farm Gate were redesignated RB-26L to distinguish them from other modified RB-26Cs, and were assigned to Project Sweet Sue . Farm Gate's B-26s operated alongside the other primary strike aircraft of the time, the T-28 Trojan , before both aircraft types were replaced by

5264-744: The Po Valley in the final campaigns in Italy. With the establishment of the United States Air Force (USAF) as an independent service in 1947, the Strategic Air Command operated the again redesignated B-26 as an RB-26 reconnaissance aircraft in service 1949 to 1950. U.S. Air Forces in Europe continued operating the B-26 until 1957. Tactical Air Command operated the aircraft as both a B-26 and later designated back to A-26;

5376-452: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Douglas A-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965)

5488-481: The U.S. government six C-130B aircraft to support operations to combat drug trafficking and guerrillas. In 1996 the base opened new ground accesses through an area devoted to the Military Transport Aviation Command. The narrow street that impeded the entrance and exit of vehicles was replaced by a dual carriageway and a tunnel that allows access to vehicular traffic passing below the airplane access ramp to runway number 2 of El Dorado International Airport. The parking lot

5600-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

5712-426: The aging terminal and had even submitted a new design to replace it, but the government had strongly opposed it due to pressing budget and legal issues (because it would be a big change to the terms of the concession, which could make Opain as well as other competitors who participated in the tender submitted claims), although many sectors of public opinion agreed with Opain. After the structural problems were discovered,

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5824-427: The airline moved the remainder of its domestic operation from T2 to T1, which in turn meant the switch from T1 to T2 of EasyFly and Satena, who are currently the sole operators at the terminal. Terminal 2 contains a revamped food plaza, some retail stores, and ATMs. The Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics (Aerocivil) is located in the new Aerocivil Building, located on the airport property. Previously it

5936-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

6048-423: The airport on 14 March 2008, after having given its concession. Initially the grant provided for the modernization of existing buildings and the construction of some additional buildings connected to the main terminal, but during the upgrading works (see below, Milestone 1), structural defects were discovered, which do not compromise the integrity of the building today. Opain from the beginning had proposed to demolish

6160-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

6272-456: The airport's name be placed in the central part of the building's façade; however, the name was the subject of much reflection: a short, easy-to-pronounce, terrigenous name was sought that would recall the aboriginal culture that occupied the Bogotá Savannah. Thus, El Dorado was chosen as the most appropriate name for the new terminal. After much discussion among academics led by Professor Luis López de Mesa, Father Félix Restrepo and Alberto Miramón,

6384-492: The archaeological television program Time Team of the UK's Channel 4 , along with members of RAF Millom Museum , took part in a major project to excavate the crash sites of two A-26 Invader aircraft after the aircraft collided shortly after take-off over marshes close to the then USAAF BAD 2 airbase at Warton in Lancashire on 29 November 1944. The aircraft, A-26B-10-DT 43-22298 and A-26B-15-DT 43-22336 , were en route to Brétigny, Oise , in northern France for service with

6496-401: The building. However, the airline was mindful of the impending and current renovations of El Dorado. One possible plan will be demolishing the Puente Aéreo Terminal, Main terminal and old cargo buildings which will be replaced with a new mega terminal. Many of the renovations made to the terminal in 2006 were obviously temporary and designed to be cheap but effective. For example, the walkways for

6608-412: The capabilities of the Invader were not lost on the Indonesian government. In 1959, the government purchased six aircraft at Davis-Monthan AFB , which were ferried to Indonesia in full military markings during mid-1960. Used in a number of actions against rebels in various areas, these aircraft went on to long follow-up careers. The last operational flights of three final survivors were in 1976, supporting

6720-416: The capacity of El Dorado Airport with capacity to reach 60 million passengers with a contract awarded by 2025. The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at the airport. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , some flights are currently suspended. Note : In 2016 and 2017 the airport was named the best in South America by World Airport Awards. It received four-star rating by Skytrax and

6832-413: The civil or overseas military markets. The initial main civil uses were as "executive" personnel transports with minimal modifications such as removal of military features, bomb-bay doors sealed shut, passenger-entry stairs in bomb bay, and the conversion of the fuselage to accept six to eight passengers. Improvements developed considerably until the early 1960s, when purpose-built executive types such as

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6944-423: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

7056-499: The company that operates Zurich Airport . El Dorado has consistently been ranked since 2016 by World Airport Awards and Skytrax as among the best airports in the world. It was ranked as the best airport in South America by World Airport Awards and the best airport in Latin America overall by Skytrax with a four-star certification by Skytrax in 2022. It was also ranked as having the best staff in South America and placed 35th in Skytrax's World's Top 100 Airports. As well as ranking as

7168-399: The construction of the airport, and of the Sociedad de Mejoras y Ornato, there is no record of the company that manufactured the Eldorado sign; neither is the weight of the eight letters known, since they did not need maintenance since they were installed. The airport reached a milestone in 1973 with over three million passengers and nearly 5 million units of luggage processed. Plans began for

7280-501: The costs associated with it, and because of the non-existent relationship between Galán and the airport. At the end of 2017, all the works corresponding to El Dorado International Airport and the new Terminal 1 were fully handed over. The Terminal 1 grew from 173,000 to 235,000 m² (square meters), with the potential to serve up to 43 million people per year. Avianca officially opened a hub in Bogotá in December 1998. The carrier flies to 52 destinations from Bogota as of August 2023. It

7392-530: The country's air traffic. The facility covers 1,700 acres (6.9 sq. km) and contains two 3,800m long runways. El Dorado has non-stop international flights to North America , South America , Central America , the Caribbean , Europe , and the Middle East . Strategically located between the Americas, it is the most well connected Airport in Latin America, and is the 20th most connected in the world as of 2024. Its location helps to facilitate both cargo and passengers connections between both continents and beyond. It

7504-425: The day and night. In 2012, in accordance with Law 75 of 1989, which honors the memory of Luis Carlos Galán , Law 1529 of 2012 made official the name change from "El Dorado International Airport" to "Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento El Dorado International Airport", including the space between "El" and "Dorado", and the name of the politician from Bumán. This name change generated a strong controversy, especially because of

7616-529: The design – especially the positioning of the engines – which made the A-26B unsuitable for its intended role of ground attack. In response to such evaluations, General George Kenney , commander of the Far East Air Forces , stated: "We do not want the A-26 under any circumstances as a replacement for anything." Nevertheless, development continued. While the 3rd BG was waiting suitably modified A-26s, it requested additional Douglas A-20 Havocs , although both types were used in composite flights. Some USAAF units in

7728-417: The developers invested a great deal of time and effort in their attempts to get the system to work, delaying production. As might be expected, the complex system was difficult to maintain in the field. Douglas officially delivered the first production model A-26B aircraft to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 10 September 1943. These were sent for field evaluation in actual combat operations, with

7840-436: The domestic concourse. It also offers a variety of food options, both on the air and land side, and several retail stores and cafés in the duty-free area. There are also car rental facilities, ticket counters, ATMs , telephones, restrooms, luggage storage space and even a small casino . The terminal has complimentary Wi-Fi service. T1 has several check-in counter areas, check-in kiosks and expanded immigration lanes compared to

7952-460: The eight-gun nose, underwing drop tanks, and rocket racks. They were flown to a CIA-run base in Guatemala, where training was under way for B-26, C-46, and C-54 Cuban exile air crews by personnel from the Alabama Air National Guard . After transfer to Nicaragua in early April 1961, they were painted in the markings of the Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria (FAR), the air force of the Cuban government. On 15 April 1961, crewed by Cuban exiles, eight B-26s of

8064-469: The end of these missions. The aircraft from Laos participated in the early phase of the Vietnam War with the USAF, but with Vietnamese markings as part of Project Farm Gate. Although Farm Gate operated B-26Bs, B-26Cs, and genuine RB-26Cs, many of these aircraft were operated under the designation RB-26C, although they were used in a combat capacity. During 1963, two RB-26Cs were sent to Clark AB in

8176-934: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

8288-495: The final variant was designated B-26K until 1966, then it again became the A-26A. This final version continued in service through the late 1960s with active-duty special-operations TAC units, and through 1972 with TAC-gained special-operations units of the Air National Guard . The U.S. Navy obtained Invaders from the USAF to use these aircraft in their utility squadrons (VU) for target towing and general utility until superseded by

8400-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

8512-504: The first two Hercules C-130B, with Colombian airplane military numbers FAC-1001 and FAC-1002, were delivered to this base. These aircraft, clearly designed for war missions and troop and materials transport, were able to use short and unpaved runways used in military operations through the country, fulfilling the needs of Colombian Air Force. In 1977, the Military Transport Aviation Command was named after

8624-540: The first years of operation and until 2005 Avianca gradually moved all of its domestic operations to the Puente Aéreo and moved the Miami and New York operations to the main terminal. This allowed them to streamline their operations by using space previously assigned to customs and immigration for passenger gates and lounges. The culmination of this process came in 2006 when the airline undertook extensive renovations on

8736-478: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

8848-597: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

8960-419: The government agreed to the demolition of the airport and compensation for the renovations that Opain had already been hired to perform (Milestone 1). For the airport to handle 16 million passengers annually and 1.5 million tons of cargo, Opain plans to move the cargo terminal to allow the expansion of the passenger terminal and ensure access for at least an additional avenue to 26th Street. On 19 September 2007,

9072-597: The implementation of Milestone 1 of the plan for modernization and expansion of the airport began. This consists of expanding the current Central Arrivals Hall of the terminal and installation of the CUTE system at the terminal. This was completed in March 2008. Additionally, the construction of the new cargo terminal, a new building for the office of civil aviation, a new fire station, an administrative center and quarantine were completed in September 2009. The third milestone of

9184-418: The innovative NACA 65-215 laminar-flow airfoil wing of the A-26 was the work of project aerodynamics expert A.M.O. Smith . The Douglas XA-26 prototype (AAC Ser. No. 41-19504) first flew on 10 July 1942 at Mines Field , El Segundo , with test pilot Benny Howard at the controls. Flight tests revealed excellent performance and handling but engine-cooling problems led to cowling changes and elimination of

9296-487: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

9408-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

9520-551: The name of the airport was determined by decree, written without spaces, forming a single word. On 10 December 1959, the Eldorado International Air was inaugurated with a spectacular aeronautical exhibition beginning on 6 December which included 16 airplanes, 12 jet-propelled and four additional B-26s that caused the greatest impression on the public. In the archives of the firm of architects and engineers Cuéllar, Serrano, Gómez y Cía., which participated in

9632-568: The new B-26K Counter-Invader standard of upgraded engines, propellers, and brakes, remanufactured wings, and wing-tip fuel tanks for use by the 609th Special Operations Squadron . In May 1966, the B-26K was again redesignated A-26A for political reasons (Thailand did not allow U.S. bombers in-country at the time, so the Invaders were redesignated again with an "A", for attack aircraft ), and deployed in Thailand to help disrupt supplies moving along

9744-443: The new gates are simply floor tiles placed over the old tarmac and the structure is made of aluminum with plastic sheets instead of glass windows. Passengers must cross the lanes used by buses, baggage carts and other vehicles in order to reach the aircraft. Once at the gate travellers must climb stairs to access the plane, the norm in the 1950s and 1960s but has for many years been surpassed by jetways. In February 2008, Avianca opened

9856-466: The nose section to bomb. A few A-26Cs were fitted with dual flight controls, some parts of which could be disabled in flight for access to the nose section. Access for the bombardier was through the lower section of the right instrument panel; he normally sat next to the pilot. This was similar to British designs such as the Lancaster , Blenheim / Beaufort , Wellington , etc. A tractor-style "jump seat"

9968-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

10080-500: The previous terminal. "Express lanes" were added for holders of biometric passports and Global Entry Membership. The new terminal has moving walkways, escalators and elevators to guarantee universal access and faster connections. The new terminal contains 32 gates: 10 for international flights and 22 for domestic flights, five of which are remote stands. The "Puente Aéreo" is currently Terminal 2 (T2). It had previously been Avianca's exclusive terminal for domestic flights. On 29 April 2018,

10192-412: The project began in late November 2009. Terminal 2 (Today's T1), located on the north side of the old terminal, will handle all international passengers and its construction was set for 2012. The old building of Terminal 1 will handle only national passengers, except for Avianca's which will continue being served on Terminal Puente Aereo. Soon after Terminal 2 began its operation, the old Terminal 1 building

10304-409: The rear compartment, with traversing and elevating/depressing periscope sights on each end. The gunner sat on a seat facing rearwards looking into a binocular periscope sight mounted on the column, controlling the guns with a pair of handles on the sides of the column. Aimed above the centerline of the aircraft, the mirror in the center of the column 'flipped', showing the gunner a limited view similar to

10416-434: The runway to increase efficiency. The time scale for phase one was announced as approximately 24 months. Phase 2 involves the construction of a brand new secondary airport, currently called El Dorado II, in the suburb of Facatativa west of Bogota. The new airport was due to open in 2023. It was expected that El Dorado and El Dorado II will be connected via a commuter/light rail project. In 2023, plans were announced to double

10528-506: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

10640-535: The second busiest airport in South America and 3rd overall in Latin America in terms of passenger traffic, as well as being the 32nd busiest airport in the world in 2022. With 760,000 metric tons of cargo passing through the same year, it is also Iberoamerica 's most important cargo hub. El Dorado is also by far the busiest and most important airport in Colombia, accounting for just under half (49%) of

10752-500: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

10864-453: The target with his searchlight to enable his wingmen to destroy the train. Walmsley was shot down, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . Invaders carried out the last USAF bombing mission of the war 24 minutes before the armistice agreement was signed on 27 July 1953. In addition to the standard attack versions of the B-26 for night interdiction missions, modified WB-26s and RB-26s of

10976-521: The transfer of the Unit to an area adjacent to the new Airport of El Dorado, using the civil airport facilities, while finishing the construction of a new base. The base was baptized as Comando Aéreo de Transporte Militar (Military Transportation Air Command) or CATAM. The base was inaugurated on 28 May 1963. The base acquired the status of Operations and Logistics Support Center by FAC Directive No. 4429 of 8 July 1963, starting operations on 25 October. In 1968

11088-444: The turboprop Gulfstream I became available. During the mid-1950s, A-26s were tested and used as air tankers for suppression of forest and wildland fires, and briefly used borate-based retardants, hence the inaccurate and unofficial term "borate bombers". Borate was later discontinued due to its undesirable ecologic effects, replaced with retardant mixtures of water, clays, fertilizers, and red dyes. That use of A-26s on USDA contracts

11200-515: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

11312-432: The view the upper periscope was seeing. As he pressed the handles downward, and as the bead passed the centerline, the mirror automatically flipped, transferring the sight "seamlessly" to the lower periscope. The guns aimed in the approximate direction the periscope was aimed, automatically transferring between upper and lower turrets as required, and computing for parallax and other factors. While novel and sound in principle,

11424-616: Was activated for Korean service. It flew its first missions in November 1950 from Itazuke, Japan, providing daylight support, with the 3rd Bomb Wing, consisting of the 8th, 13th, and 90th Bomb Squadrons, flying night missions. Because of the Chinese intervention, they were forced to find another base, so they moved to Miho Air Base on the west coast of Honshū. In early 1951, they moved to Pusan East (K-9) Air Base , continuing their daylight and night-intruder missions. In June 1951, they joined

11536-782: Was also enlarged to serve up to 260 vehicles. The base hosts the Colombian Air Force Museum, which has planes in display that represent the various types used in service during the 85 years history of the force. In 2003 NVG equipment for night vision air operations was installed in Hercules C-130 and CN-235 Nurtanio airplanes. This increased the operational and support capacity of the base given to ground Army force, by allowing transportation, parachuting and aeromedical evacuation on combat runways lacking illumination. In this way Colombian Air Force almost doubled its operating capacity at this base, since it works 24 hours

11648-878: Was assisting the Royal Lao Government in fighting the Pathet Lao . The repercussions from the Bay of Pigs invasion meant no combat missions are known flown, although RB-26Cs operated over Laos until the end of 1961. Then, the aircraft operated in South Vietnam under Project Farm Gate . The only other deployment of B-26 aircraft to Laos prior to the introduction of the B-26K/A-26A was the deployment of two RB-26C aircraft modified for night reconnaissance during May–July 1962 under Project Black Watch . These aircraft, drawn from Farm Gate stocks, were returned at

11760-409: Was behind the "navigator's seat". In most missions, a third crew member in the rear gunner's compartment operated the remote-controlled dorsal and ventral gun turrets, with access to-and-from the cockpit via the bomb bay only if that was empty. The gunner operated both dorsal and ventral turrets via a novel, complex and unreliable dual-ended periscope sight, a vertical column running through the center of

11872-557: Was discontinued in major regions by about 1973, after many of the A-26 air tankers found willing purchasers in Canada. Much early development of conversions was carried out by Grand Central Aircraft, whose drawings and personnel were taken up by the On Mark Engineering Company of Van Nuys, California, from about 1955. By the 1960s, On Mark had an exclusive license from Douglas Aircraft Company for manufacture and sale of parts for A-26s. The on Mark Executive (1956),

11984-513: Was launched the first Military Transport Service in Colombia, when a Junkers F-13 carried Colonel Luis Acevedo and his party to Leticia. Colonel Acevedo also served as Colombia's General Director of aviation. Although the military air transport infrastructure was not formed yet, that mission was accomplished during the conflict with Peru in a rudimentary but effective way, with aircraft like the Junkers W 34, Ju 52 and BT-32 Condor. In 1954 he created

12096-710: Was listed in the top 50 of the "World's Top 100 Airports" list in both years. Its staff was rated the best in South America by the World Airport Awards in 2017. [REDACTED] Media related to El Dorado International Airport at Wikimedia Commons IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in

12208-460: Was located on the fourth floor of the main terminal building. Due to the high demand for passengers, the need has become apparent to build a new, more modern airport with a larger capacity for both commercial and cargo flights. The process began with the creation of the new terminal. On 7 February 2007, the airport gave a concession to the consortium Opain. The national government accepted the proposal with Opain (airport operating company), to demolish

12320-484: Was renamed to Terminal 1. Final work on the new Terminal 1 was completed in 2017. In January 2015, a two-stage plan was proposed to improve Bogota's aerial access, as part of a greater endeavor to modernize Colombia's airports. The plan included a major expansion to the current main terminal with the effect of increasing the number of gates from 37 to 56 and thus raising the capacity of the airport from 27 million passengers to 40 million. Phase 1 also includes improvements to

12432-497: Was the nation's air hub. It was relegated to secondary importance in the country when El Dorado Airport opened. The Sociedad de Mejoras y Ornato de Bogotá was in charge of the external decoration of the airport. On 29 September, after a meeting of the Board of Directors of project, the inauguration date was set for 10 December 1959. Before its completion on 28 October 1959, the airports's manager, René Van Meerbeke, recommended that

12544-452: Was to be demolished in order to build a new terminal for domestic passengers. On 17 October, the new Terminal 2 was inaugurated and on the 19th, every international operation was moved from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2. The new El Dorado International Airport, designed by Zyscovich Architects, was the largest infrastructure project in the city, when it was completed in July 2014. The new Terminal 2

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