Gonzalo Vázquez Luján International Airport

Gonzalo Francisco Vázquez y Luján International Airport
San Juan Diego International Airport in 2009
IATA: SJD ICAO: CJSD DAVIM LID: ՍՋԴ
Summary
Airport type	Public/military
Owner	Ministry of Transportation
Operator	Bureau of Aerospace Infrastructure
Serves	San Juan Diego
Location	San Juan Diego, southern Nuevo Amanecer, Creeperopolis
Opened	2 December 1936 (military) 12 October 1959 (civilian)
Focus city for	San Juan Airways Sequoyah National Airways
Time zone	Castillianan Time (AMT–5)
Elevation AMSL	263 ft / 80 m
Coordinates	52.75°S 68.56°W
Map
SJD/CJSD
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 07/25 6,631 2,021 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Total passengers 574,453 Aircraft movements 9,620

Gonzalo Francisco Vázquez y Luján International Airport (IATA: SJD, ICAO: CJSD, DAVIM LID: ՍՋԴ), formerly known as the San Juan Diego International Airport, is a civil and military international airport located in San Juan Diego, Creeperopolis. The airport was the third busiest airport in Sequoyah until 2022 when the territory the airport was located in was annexed by Creeperopolis, after which, the airport became the busiest airport in the Creeperian viceroyalty of Nuevo Amanecer.

The airport opened in December 1936 and was initially used as an air force base by the Sequoyan Air Force, then being known as the San Juan Diego Air Force Base. The airport began to service commercial flights in October 1959, after which it was renamed as the San Juan Diego International Airport. In May 1968, the airport was closed to commercial flights indefinitely after a terrorist attacked committed by the San Juan Liberation Forces (FLSJ); the airport remained closed until December 1987 when it reopened to commercial flights after the FLSJ agreed to a ceasefire and the passenger facilities at the airport were restored. It was again closed from November 2020 to February 2023 due to damages sustained during the Battle of San Juan Diego during the Sequoyan Civil War. In December 2022, control of the airport was transfered from the Sequoyan Civil Aviation Administration to the Imperial Aviation Directorate as a result of the Creeperian annexation of Nahnaigagoti and San Juan Diego.

History

In 1935, the Sequoyan Air Force ordered the construction of an air force base in the northern Sequoyan city of San Juan Diego in response to the outbreak of the Creeperian Civil War in 1933 and Castilliano's (Sequoyah's northern neighbor) entrance to the war in 1934 as a co-belligerent. The air force wanted to establish a base in San Juan Diego in the event the war spilled over into Sequoyah and as the city was the third largest city in the Sequoyah. Construction began in April 1935 and was completed in November 1936, with the air force base officially opening on 2 December 1936.

The air force base was known as San Juan Diego Air Force Base and was used exclusively by the air force until 1959. That year, Creeperian Airlines, the flag carrier of Creeperopolis, wanted to begin international flights from San Salvador and Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor to San Juan Diego, as the city had a large Creeperian population. On 12 October 1959, Creeperian Airlines Flight 689, the first scheduled passenger flight from San Salvador, landed at San Juan Diego Air Force base. Shortly afterwards, in November 1959, the airport was renamed to the San Juan Diego International Airport. Domestic flights at San Juan Diego International Airport did not begin until 12 December 1964 when Sequoyah National Airways commenced operations. The airline's first ever commercial flight, Sequoyah National Airways Flight 1, arrived from Asequi International Airport.

In 1966, the Sequoyan government extended the length of the runway from 5,230 feet (1,594 meters) to 6,352 feet (1,936 meters) in response to the crash of Sequoyah National Airways Flight 16 which overran the runway after being loaded beyond its maximum gross takeoff weight; the crash killed at 37 people on board and an additional 3 people on the ground. The runway was also extended in part to accommodate the Maroto Botín MB-8, as Creeperian Airlines had begun to completely phase out piston and turboprop aircraft from its fleet. The first MB-8 turbofan aircraft arrived at San Juan Diego International Airport on 30 October 1966.

On 13 May 1968, the San Juan Liberation Forces (FLSJ), a militant group composed of ethnic Creeperans, detonated two truck bombs and hijacked three Sequoyah National Airways aircraft. The attack was a part of the group's military campaign against the Sequoyan government to attain the secession of the majority-Creeperian territories of Sequoyah and achieve their subsequent annexation to Creeperopolis. The bombings killed 22 people and injured 24 more, and onboard the hijacked aircraft, the FLSJ took 35 hostages, all of whom were airline employees, airport employees, Sequoyan civilians, and two police officers. In response to the attack, the Sequoyan government closed the San Juan Diego International Airport for commercial flights until further notice and all commercial flights to and from the airport were canceled, however, the Sequoyan Air Force continued to operate the airport. The San Juan Diego International Airport remained closed to commercial flights until 1985 when the Sequoyan government and the FLSJ agreed to a ceasefire. The airport underwent renovations from 1985 to 1987 as the passenger terminal had fallen into disrepair as the Sequoyan Air Force neglected to maintain it. After renovations ended in November 1987, the first commercial flight since 1968 landed at the airport on 11 December 1987. The airport underwent further renovations in 1999 and 2011.

The interior of the passenger terminal

On 27 November 2020, Admiral Diwali Wesa, the interim president of Sequoyah, arrested president-elect Usti Atagulkalu at his home outside of Asequi. Atagulkalu's arrest led to the outbreak of the Sequoyan Civil War, and on 29 November 2020, General Gawonii Unaduty led the 3rd and 4th infantry battalions to oust soldiers loyal to Wesa from San Juan Diego, beginning the Battle of San Juan Diego. The following day, the city's pro-Wesa forces fled south, but not before destroying 15 fighter and transport aircraft at the airport and using excavators to tear large trenches in the runway to render the airport unusable. The airport was captured by pro-Atagulkalu forces on 30 November 2020. On 10 February 2021, Sequoyan, Creeperian, and Salisfordian soldiers commanded by Major General Atohi Dustu, General Lázaro Chacón González, and Lieutenant General Camillo di Savotta—all organized as a part of the CODECO Mission in Sequoyah (COMISEQ)—launched an attack against Unaduty's pro-Atagulkalu forces to capture San Juan Diego. On the day the attack began, the Creeperian Air Force initiated bombing campaigns against pro-Atagulkalu positions, including the San Juan Diego International Airport which was used to store munitions. During the bombings, the munitions exploded and killed 36 soldiers and 11 civilians in the process. COMISEQ forces captured the airport on 12 February 2021 and captured 35 of Unaduty's soldiers. The city itself was captured by 15 February 2021.

On 24 February 2021, Ernesto Castro Aldana, the mayor of San Juan Diego, ordered the rebuilding of the San Juan Diego International Airport and asked for COMISEQ to finance the reconstruction in exchange for being able to use the airport as an air force base. COMISEQ leadership approved Castro Aldana's request and repairs to the airport's runway, taxiways, ramps, and structures began in mid-March 2021. On 5 December 2022, as repairs were close to completion, the Sequoyan districts of Nahnaigagoti and San Juan Diego were annexed by Creeperopolis as a part of the conclusion of the CODECO military occupation of Sequoyah; as a result, operations of the San Juan Diego International Airport transferred from the Sequoyan Civil Aviation Administration to the Imperial Aviation Directorate. Repairs to the airport were completed in February 2023, and the airport officially reopened to commercial flights on 28 February 2023 when Creeperian Airlines Flight 2305 arrived from San Salvador. Upon its reopening, the airport was renamed to the Gonzalo Francisco Vázquez y Luján International Airport in honor of Creeperian conquistador Gonzalo Vázquez Luján who founded the Captaincy General of San Juan and the city of San Juan Diego in the 1430s.

Facilities

The airport's passenger terminal

The airport has a single asphalt runway; it is 6,631 feet (2,021 meters) long, is at an elevation of 263 feet (80 meters), and is numbered 07/25. Due to the terrain and urban development around the airport, neither end of the runway has an approach lighting system installed; only Medium Intensity Runway Lights (MIRL) and Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL) are installed. No localizer is installed and the airport; only RNAV, VOR, and visual approaches are approved for the airport.

The airport has a single passenger terminal with four gates and five stands for commercial flights. The airport also has a main ramp with ten stands for general aviation aircraft, several aircraft hangers, a cargo terminal with one stand, and a ramp for military aircraft. One helipad is located at the general aviation stands. The air traffic control tower is positioned at the center of the passenger terminal. The terminal, ramps, stands, and hangers are connected to the runway via a single primary taxiway with five additional taxiways which connect the runway and the primary taxiway at various points.

Airlines and destinations

A Sequoyah National Airways Maroto Botín MB-7-10 at the airport in 1988

A TACA Airlines Aerobus A319-100 at the airport in 2010

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Air Senvar	Seasonal: Puerto Senvar
Avianca	Asequi, Chalatenango–Santiago Matadeltinianos, Santa María
Creeperian Airlines	Asequi, Chalatenango–Santiago Matadeltinianos, San Pedro, San Salvador–Saint Romero I, Tuxtla Martínez/Panachor
Creeperian Airlines Connect	Nuevo San Juan
Imperial Airlines	Suchitoto
Rakavión	Seasonal: Olino
Salvadoran Airlines	Ciutat dels Àngels
San Juan Airways	Asequi, Chalatenango–Santiago Matadeltinianos, Itse Gadu, Kalgaduv, Nuevo San Juan, Puerto Senvar, Punto Sur, San Salvador–Saint Romero I, Suchitoto, Tuxtla Martínez/Panachor
Sequoyah National Airways	Asequi, Itse Gadu, Kalgaduv, Monowi
Southern Express	Chalatenango–Santiago Matadeltinianos, Nuevo San Juan, San Salvador–Saint Romero I, Tuxtla Martínez/Panachor
TACA Airlines	Porto do Son, Victoria

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Creeperian Airlines Cargo	Asequi, Chalatenango–Santiago Matadeltinianos, San Salvador–Saint Romero I
Southern Cargo Operations	Nuevo San Juan

Statistics and traffic

Traffic by calendar year since 2010

	Passenger volume	Aircraft movements	Freight (tons)
2010	516,840	7,999	19,239
2011	545,586	8,010	19,166
2012	565,328	8,317	19,516
2013	581,553	8,583	20,759
2014	587,932	8,666	20,687
2015	617,526	8,697	20,373
2016	603,486	8,886	20,453
2017	697,925	8,764	20,171
2018	625,593	8,822	20,256
2019	574,453	9,620	21,425
2020	109,670	2,340	3,429
2021	0	0	0
2022	0	0	0
2023	218,249	3,839	14,576

Accidents and incident

• On 23 July 1938, a Sequoyan Air Force Maroto FA-1C lost control during a touch-and-go maneuver on Runway 25. The aircraft rolled over and crash on the left side of the runway. Both the pilot and the gunner survived.
• On 5 February 1966, Sequoyah National Airways Flight 16, operated by a Maroto Botín MB-6-20, crashed during takeoff from Runway 07 as the aircraft was overloaded beyond the maximum gross takeoff weight. The crash killed all 37 people on board and an additional 3 people on the ground.
• On 13 May 1968, the San Juan Liberation Forces detonated two truck bombs and hijacked three Sequoyan National Airways aircraft in a coordinated attack on the airport as a part of its military campaign to secede from Sequoyah. The bombings killed 22 people and injured 24 more. Additionally, 35 people were taken as hostages, of whom, 12 were killed or died before their release in 1985.

The wreckage of TACA Airlines Flight 1390 shortly after it crashed in 2008

• On 18 September 1989, Sequoyah National Airways Flight 44, operated by a Maroto Botín MB-7-30, collided with a truck while landing on Runway 07. All 52 passengers on board survived the crash but the driver and passenger in the truck were killed.
• On 30 May 2008, TACA Airlines Flight 1390, operated by an Aerobus A320-200, overran the runway while landing on Runway 07 during a rainstorm. The crash killed 13 of the 68 people on board and killed an additional 5 people on the ground.
• On 30 November 2020, the Sequoyan Air Force destroyed various transport and fighter aircraft at the San Juan Diego International Airport before retreating from the city as a part of the Battle of San Juan Diego. A total of 15 aircraft were destroyed and excavators were used to render the runway unusable.
• On 10 February 2021, the Creeperian Air Force bombed the San Juan Diego International Airport in targeted strikes against pro-Atagulkalu forces which remained in the city as a part of the Battle of San Juan Diego. The bombings killed 36 soldiers, 11 civilians, and destroyed various vehicles and munitions. The airport was further damaged during the bombings.

See also

Creeperopolis portal Sequoyah portal Terraconserva portal

• Air transportation in Creeperopolis
• List of airports in Nuevo Amanecer
• Air transportation in Sequoyah
• List of airports in Sequoyah