Silvio Pettirossi International Airport

Silvio Pettirossi International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional de Asunción Silvio Pettirossi
Front view of ASU Terminal
IATA: ASU – ICAO: SGAS
Summary
Airport type	Public
Serves	Asunción
Location	Luque, Paraguay
Hub for	TAM Airlines (Paraguay)
Elevation AMSL	89 m / 291 ft
Coordinates
Website	DINAC
Map
ASU Location of airport in Paraguay
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 02/20 3,353 11,000 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 910,554 Aircraft Operations 47,966 Cargo (tn) 1,982.67
Statistics: DINAC

Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (IATA: ASU, ICAO: SGAS) is Paraguay's main national and international gateway, located at Luque, a city of the Central Department. It is named after the Paraguayan aviator Silvio Pettirossi and was formerly known as President Stroessner International Airport, after Paraguay's former head of state General Alfredo Stroessner.

History

The airport serves as hub for TAM Airlines also known as Transportes Aéreos del Mercosur S.A., formerly known as TAM Mercosur and LAP (Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas).

The terminal building splits into two international concourses, the north concourse with 2 gates (5 and 6) and the south concourse with 4 gates (1 to 4).

On 17 December 2015, the first Air Europa flight arrived from Madrid, Spain to the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Luque and provided the first direct connection between Paraguay and Europe in 21 years. The airplane arrived with the presence of the Minister of Tourism, Marcela Bacigalupo and more than 200 invited guests. The flight had 98% of its seats occupied and before the airplane departed Madrid, there was an inauguration ceremony of the new route which was attended by the president of the airline, Juan José Hidalgo, the ambassador of Paraguay in Spain, Antonio Rivas, and the vice-minister of Paraguayan Industry, Oscar Stark. Mr. Hidalgo highlighted "the high seat occupancy of the inaugural flight," which, in his opinion, shows "success" is expected for this route.

Accessibility and location

The airport, located within Luque, may be reached from the city of Asuncion via the Airport Main Road (Avenida Aviadores del Chaco), which runs adjacent to nearby Ñu Guasú Park. Asuncion's local bus line 30-A links the city center with the airport's terminal. The airport is also near the headquarters of CONMEBOL, the continental governing body of association football in South America.

Visas on arrival

The Silvio Pettirossi Airport offers tourist visas on arrival with a maximum duration of 90 days for a reciprocity fee to citizens of:

• Australia – US$135
• Canada – US$150
• United States of America – US$160
• New Zealand – US$140
• Taiwan – US$100
• Russia – US$160

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Buenos Aires-Aeroparque, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza
Air Europa	Córdoba (begins 18 December 2016), Madrid
Alas Uruguay	Montevideo, Punta del Este
Amaszonas	Montevideo, Santa Cruz de la Sierra-Viru Viru
Amaszonas operated by Amaszonas Paraguay	Ciudad del Este, Iquique, Montevideo Seasonal: Encarnación
Avianca Peru	Lima
Copa Airlines	Panama City
Gol Airlines	São Paulo-Guarulhos
LATAM Paraguay	Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Ciudad del Este, Lima, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Santa Cruz de la Sierra-Viru Viru, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo-Guarulhos

Accidents and incidents

• 16 June 1955: a Panair do Brasil Lockheed L-049/149 Constellation registration PP-PDJ operating flight 263 from São Paulo-Congonhas to Asunción hit a 12m tree while on final approach to land at Asunción. Part of the wing broke off, the aircraft crashed and caught fire. Of the 24 passengers and crew aboard, 16 died.
• 27 August 1980: Transporte Aéreo Militar – TAM Paraguayo, a Douglas C-47B registration FAP2016 crashed on approach to Silvio Pettirossi International Airport. The aircraft was on a flight to Ayolas when an engine failed shortly after take-off and the decision was made to land back at Asunción. One person was killed
• 4 February 1996: a LAC Colombia cargo Douglas DC-8-55F registration HK-3979X flying from Asunción to Campinas for an empty positioning flight from Asunción. At VR power was reduced on no. 1 engine and, after rotation, also on the no. 2 engine. With the gear still down and flaps at 15° the aircraft lost control and crashed on a playing field 2 km past the runway. The crew possibly used the positioning flight as an opportunity for crew training. All four occupants of the aircraft and 20 persons on the ground died.

Gallery

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See also

• List of airports in Paraguay
• Transport in Paraguay
• List of airports by ICAO code: S#SG - Paraguay

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

• Airport information for SGAS at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
• Airport information for SGAS at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Current weather for SGAS at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for ASU at Aviation Safety Network
• Silvio Pettirossi International Airport
• A–Z World Airports Online – Asuncion – Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU/SGAS)
• Ground Handling & FBO On Asuncion (ASU/SGAS)
• Google Map of ASU
• Flickr group for photos of ASU