Guadalajara International Airport

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport(IATA:GDL,ICAO:MMGL), simply known asGuadalajara International Airport, is the primaryinternational airportservingGuadalajara,Jalisco, thethird-largest city in Mexico. It facilitates flights to and from destinations across Mexico,the Americas, andEurope.It is the largest hub forVolaris, functioning as the airline's primary gateway to theUnited States.Additionally, it serves as a hub forAeromexicoandViva. Operated byGrupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico(GAP), the airport is named afterMiguel Hidalgo, a prominent leader in theMexican War of Independence.
The airport is thethird-largestin Mexico based on aircraft operations and cargo flights, providing services to countries in the Americas,Asia, andEurope. Additionally, the airport supports various tourism initiatives, flight training programs, andgeneral aviationactivities. In terms of passenger traffic, Guadalajara Airport ranks third in Mexico, followingMexico CityandCancún. It stands as theninth busiest in Latin Americaand the39th busiest in North America. It handled 17,848,700 passengers in 2024, a slight 0.78% increase from previous year.
The Guadalajara Airport was inaugurated on March 1, 1951, featuring two asphaltrunways, an apron, and a small passenger terminal. The opening ceremony was officiated by PresidentMiguel Alemán Valdés.
Guadalajara Airport has undergone significant expansions since its early days. In 1966, operations were briefly suspended due to safety concerns raised by the Technical Commission of the Mexican Pilots Association (Spanish:Asociación Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores de México ASPA).Urgent repairs were carried out, with airlines temporarily redirected to theZapopan Air Force Base. The renovation efforts included enlarging the original 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) runway 10/28. By 1968, the runway was reconstructed and extended to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft), coinciding with the reconstruction of the airport's passenger building.
The airport was reinaugurated as the new Miguel Hidalgo International Airport. This transformation allowed it to accommodatewide-body aircraftand was executed largely using existing infrastructure, with the old runway, apron, and building repurposed for general aviation. Throughout the following years, the airport underwent further transformations. In 1973, runways, taxiways, aprons, passenger buildings, parking lots, acontrol tower, and fuel storage areas were completely renovated or newly constructed.Technological enhancements, such asjetbridges, high-intensity lights,visual approach slope indicator(VASI) andrunway end identifier lights(REIL), were implemented to ensure operational efficiency and safety.
In the 1980s,Mexicana, a key player in the country's aviation industry, began a decentralization effort to address congestion atMexico City International Airport. Guadalajara, alongside airports likeMonterreyandMérida, played a pivotal role in accommodating additional routes and frequencies to alleviate pressure on the capital's airport.As part of this initiative, a Maintenance Base was inaugurated in 1988. This facility had the capacity to service tenBoeing 727-200aircraft and twoDC-10s, constituting a significant portion (approximately 23%) of the airline's fleet. Until Mexicana's bankruptcy, the airport served as a hub for the airline, functioning as one of its gateways to theUnited States.
On May 24, 1993, the airport parking lot became the site of a tragic firefight between theLogan Heights Gang, associated with theTijuana Cartel, and theSinaloa Cartel. This confrontation resulted in seven fatalities, including Catholic ArchbishopJuan Jesús Posadas Ocampo.
In 1994, expansion and adaptation projects were funded byAeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares(ASA), leading to significant improvements in the passenger terminal and departures concourse.The apron was extended, and two taxiways were added. A transformative year came in 1995 with the publication of the 'Ley de Aeropuertos' (Airports Law) by theDepartment of Communications and Transportation(Spanish:Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transporte), marking the inception of Mexico's airport privatization program. In 1999, Guadalajara Airport joinedGrupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico(GAP), a consortium headquartered in Guadalajara.
The airport served as a hub forAero Californiafrom its establishment in 1960 until its bankruptcy in 2006.In the 2000s, it also served as the primary hub for the now-defunct regional airlineALMAand was a secondary hub forAeromar. In 2010, Volaris commenced service to Guadalajara, absorbing routes from the defunct Aerocalifornia and Mexicana.This marked the establishment of what is now Volaris' largest hub.
In 2020, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico announced a substantial investment of 14 billionpesosin Guadalajara Airport. This funding was dedicated to essential developments, including the construction of a new runway located on the northern side of the airport, converting the terminal and other buildings into midfield facilities. Other developments include improved terminal access, an expanded parking lot, a hotel, an office complex, and a solar power plant. The comprehensive expansion project is slated for completion by 2024.
Despite the promising vision, expansion initiatives have faced setbacks due to conflicts with residents.Protests have disrupted parking lot access, leading to a reevaluation of the construction timeline.Residents argue that Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico holds debts for the land, originally expropriated in 1975 for airport expansion. This contested terrain, spanning the airport's polygon and an additional 320 hectares (790 acres), designates 51 hectares (130 acres) for the second runway. The ongoing dispute has prompted Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico to appeal to the Department of Communications and Transportation, resulting in a temporary postponement of the second runway's construction.Successful completion of these expansions is anticipated to substantially boost the airport's capacity, accommodating over 40 million passengers. In the absence of fruitful negotiations, the potential for another expropriation remains an option to advance the project.
In December 2021, Guadalajara Airport achieved a significant milestone with the introduction of Aeroméxico's nonstop flights toMadrid, operated by aBoeing 787. This marked the airport's inaugural direct connection to Europe.
The airport is located in the municipality ofTlajomulco de Zúñiga, approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of Downtown Guadalajara. Situated within built-up areas of the Metropolitan zone, the airport is situated at anelevation1,529 metres (5,016 ft) abovesea level, featuring threeasphaltrunways: Runway 11R/29L measuring 4,000 metres (13,000 ft), Runway 02/20 measuring 1,818 metres (5,965 ft), and Runway 11L/29R 3,538 metres (11,608 ft).
The airport's single terminal spans an area of 89,300 square metres (961,000 sq ft) and is currently undergoing renovations. Operating as a two-story facility, the terminal facilitates domestic and international flights. The ground floor encompasses arrival amenities, includingbaggage claimcarousels, domesticcheck-insections, and a commercial corridor housing snack kiosks, banks, souvenir shops, and car rental services. The upper floor features security checkpoints and a departures area extending 630 metres (2,070 ft), housing food courts, restaurants, and 43 gates distributed across four concourses:
Various VIP lounges, such as theAeroméxicoSalón Premier,CitibanamexSalón Beyond, VIP Lounge East, and VIP Lounge West, are available within the passenger terminal. Additionally, nearby hotel services include City Express Guadalajara Aeropuerto,Hampton Innby Hilton Guadalajara-Aeropuerto, and Hangar Inn.
Air Force StationNo. 1(Spanish:Estación Aérea Militar N.º 1 Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara)(E.A.M. 1)is situated on the airport grounds.Adjacent facilities encompass a maintenance base for Volaris, Aeromexico, an FBO terminal, a general aviation apron with several hangars, and a cargo terminal, recently expanded to store approximately 350,000 tons of goods annually within its 27,000 square metres (290,000 sq ft).The cargo terminal features six positions capable of handling various wide-body aircraft.
^1TAR flight to Ciudad Juárez  makes a stopover in Durango.^2Viva flight to Nuevo Laredo makes a stopover in Mexico City–AIFA.