UPDATE Sept. 9: Postponed AGAIN? See the comment by "Anonymous" below this post and the article about it at Rocky Point News Online.
The long-anticipated grand inauguration of Puerto Penasco's new international airport will take place on September 10, 2009, finally opening the region to the potential for real international tourism. Officiating at the ceremonies will be President Felipe Calderón, Secretary of Communication and Transportation Molinar Horcasitas and Daniel Chavez, CEO of Grupo Mayan/Grupo Vidanta.
Called the Mar de Cortés International Airport, phase 1 of its operations will be limited to private and charter flights with commercial flights to be available as soon as agreements with commercial airlines are finalized. The airport will serve Puerto Penasco and the "Gold Coast" of Sonora, with Aereo Calafia already committed to bringing flights from Hermosillo in 12-seat Cessna Grand Caravans.
Located in La Jolla de Cortés some 30 miles south of Puerto Penasco, the Mar de Cortés International Airport is the first completely privately built airport in Mexico. It was constructed by a joint venture between Vedanta Capital Group and Grupo Mayan. That partnership was later dissolved with ownership of the project taken over by the newly formed Grupo Vidanta, a parallel company to Grupo Mayan headed up by Daniel Chavez.
The runway was inaugurated in September 2007 when President Calderón's presidential plane landed on the runway for the Border Governors' meeting. The runway is built to endure the repeated landings of 737 planes and at 2.5 kilometers is 200 meters longer that the runway of the International Airport in Hermosillo. Area promoters consider that this airport will be one of the most important in Mexico, receiving flights from all over the world. Some of the shorter flights will be coming from the U.S. states of Arizona, Nevada, and California, as well as other important cities in Mexico.
