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Guadalajara International Airport
Guadalajara International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara), also known as Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport (IATA: GDL, ICAO: MMGL). It opened in 1966 and is located 16 km from the city centre. In 2007, the airport handled 7,332,500 passengers, representing a 15.5% increase over 2006. It is Mexico's third busiest airport, after Mexico City International Airport and Cancún International Airport.
Guadalajara's International Airport is composed of two runways and two terminals. It is also a major airport for connections, being a hub for Mexicana, Aeroméxico Connect, ALMA de Mexico, and a secondary hub for Aeroméxico. Flights are offered to several destinations within Mexico, the United States, Canada, and South America, with connections to Europe and Asia.
The airport is named for Miguel Hidalgo, who began the war that brought Mexican independence from Spain. He has been called the "father of Mexican independence".
The airport is part of the Spanish holding group Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, which also controls airports at Tijuana, Hermosillo, Leon, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz, Los Mochis, Morelia, Mexicali, Aguascalientes and Manzanillo.
The airport is being renovated and expanded under a project that will allow it to double its operating capacity by 2007. This renovation includes a new Terminal 1 concourse and four additional taxiways. The new Terminal 2 was recently inaugurated, this facility is exclusive for express or regional flights, trying to serve as a relief for the already saturated Terminal 1. As of today, the airport has a desperate need for a new terminal, since during peak-hours, all of the contact positions in Terminal 1 get crowded, and the remote ones have to be used. Generally speaking, there is a 30% chance that an aircraft gets a contact parking position at Guadalajara.
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