capt. mike - 10-28-2009 at 04:41 PM
ok....i know, not Baja specifically but it's close and on the SOC.
Rocky Point airport to open next week for private flights
Commercial air service could begin in January
By Mariana Alvarado
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.28.2009
"Arizona's Beach" will now be only a short flight away.
A new international airport in Puerto Peñasco — also known as Rocky Point — is to open next week. Initially, there will be service for private and
executive flights, and the hope is to have commercial flights to and from Tucson, Phoenix and Hermosillo beginning in January.
The Mar de Cortes International Airport was built by Operadora Aeroportuaria Golfo de Cortes. S.E. de C.V. with an initial investment of $45 million,
said Fernando Antillón, airport director.
"This is a terminal that is going to keep growing … according to the demand," said Antillón.
The airport is 20 miles south of Puerto Peñasco and about 60 miles from the U.S. border. Puerto Peñasco is 35 minutes by air from Phoenix and one hour
from Los Angeles.
The terminal will be inaugurated next Thursday by Mexico's president, Felipe Calderón, as well as representatives from the tourism industry.
It will be fully operational by 2012, but currently its 1.55-mile concrete runway is capable of handling all types of service and aircraft up to
Boeing 757s and similar aircraft, according to airport officials.
Antillón said the next phase of the construction will bring the total investment in the project to nearly $80 million.
The airport is operated by a subsidiary of conglomerate Grupo Vidanta, which is currently building several resort and residential developments in the
region. Grupo Vidanta built and operates the Mayan Palace in Rocky Point.
Airport construction started in 2007. At that time, Grupo Vidanta built in six months a provisional airport to accommodate a Mexico-U.S. border
governors conference in Puerto Peñasco.
Contact reporter Mariana Alvarado at 573-4597 or malvarado@azstarnet.com
by the numbers
Next week, Puerto Peñasco will open its first international airport.
• Investment: $45 million.
• Located: 20 miles south of Puerto Peñasco, 60 miles from the U.S. border.
• Flights to and from: Hermosillo, Sonora, Tucson, Phoenix and other gateways in Canada and the U.S.
• 80% of U.S. visitors are from Arizona.
• 62% of visitors are between 31 and 50 years of age with high income levels.
• Tourism arrivals have increased from 1.2 million in 1998 to 2.35 million in 2008.
SOURCE: Mar de Cortes International Airport
Bajahowodd - 10-28-2009 at 05:16 PM
Those timeshare projects need a ton of traffic. One room, times 52, times 500, or whatever. They need people, and the traffic heading South out of
Arizona by highway won't do it. It wouldn't surprise me if they heavily subsidize the airfare for a few years.
David K - 10-28-2009 at 05:17 PM
This makes it sound like an airport there is something 'new'???
capt. mike - 10-29-2009 at 07:15 AM
it is new, they just built it - the new one.
that's the point of the blurb.
now they can plan for comm'l airlines if a market will materialize.
David K - 10-29-2009 at 08:31 AM
yes... a 'new' airport was built... I just was saying that article makes it sound like there wasn't any airport there before.
capt. mike - 10-29-2009 at 09:26 AM
yeah - that's probably true. they want to promote it as much as possible - the Mayan Palace people paid for all of it. they have the most to gain.
gonna take a lot of years before anything really goes further.
they built that thing WAY out of town.
capt. mike - 10-29-2009 at 01:40 PM
Airport in Rocky Point closed, new airport open for National flights (not an AOE, you cannot enter Mexico at this time in MMPE - 10/29/2009
Airport in Rocky Point closed, new airport open for National flights only. (not an AOE, you cannot enter Mexico at this time at MMPE)
The old airport is X’ed out and there are obstacles placed on the runway. As Immigration and Customs have not relocated to the new airport, you
cannot land there from the US. Permission to land will be denied. I am told it will take about a week to make the airport international again. We
will be providing additional information including Lat and Long, the radial and distance from PPE (VOR), etc in the next several days as well as
indicate when it has international status.
airmech - 10-29-2009 at 06:59 PM
That's too bad. I liked Pta P but you couldn't pay me to stay at the Mayan again.
Baja&Back - 10-29-2009 at 07:08 PM
Hmmm ... "The airport is 20 miles south of Puerto Peñasco "
???? According to my map, that puts it about 19 miles out to sea. 
Am I dumber than the Mexican gov't? 
capt. mike - 10-30-2009 at 09:17 AM
http://www.urbanfreak.net/showthread.php?t=533#at
interesting discussion. you can use google translator
i don't know about hope....but optimism sure springs eternal.
big doin's for sleepy little ol' RP
capt. mike - 11-7-2009 at 08:05 AM
http://www.boomersabroad.com/online-community/blogs/puerto-p...
the prez (mexican that is...) comes to town.