Guatemala City

Guatemala City (Spanish: Ciudad de Guatemala), locally known as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala, and the most populous in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nestled in a mountain valley called, in Spanish, Valle de la Ermita. In 2009, it had a formal population of 1,075,000, but the metropolitan population is believed to have reached at least 4.5 million in 2013. Guatemala City is also the capital of the local Municipality of Guatemala and of the Guatemala Department.

History

Pre-Columbian Period

Humans have long inhabited and settled in the areas in and around modern-day Guatemala City. Upon the advent of agriculture, some of these early Neolithic settlements grew to become large, stratified cities. Testimony of this can be seen in the western suburbs of Guatemala City, where the ruins of the central ceremonial center of the Preclassic Maya city of Kaminaljuyu are located. Archeological evidence demonstrates that Kaminaljuyu was first occupied by the Maya around 1500 BC, with the site being continuously inhabited until around 1200 AD. The footprint of the archeological site is extensive, proof of the size and sophistication of Kaminaljuyu at its Preclassic peak. As a result, in the late 20th century, the unregulated suburbs of modern-day Guatemala City grew above and around the ruins. Many of the outlying ruins, along with several hundred temple mounds, were covered over with freeways, shopping centers, businesses, luxury hotels and residential areas. However, the central ceremonial center of Kaminaljuyu came under the protection of the Guatemalan government and is now a park.

La Aurora

La Aurora may refer to:

Guatemala

Coordinates: 15°30′N 90°15′W / 15.500°N 90.250°W / 15.500; -90.250

Guatemala (ⁱ/ˌɡwɑːtᵻˈmɑːləˌ ɡwæ-ˌ ɡɑː-/ GWAH-tə-MAH-lə, GWAT-ə-MAH-lə or GAH-tə-MAH-lə; Spanish: [gwateˈmala]), officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, Honduras to the east and El Salvador to the southeast. With an estimated population of around 15.8 million, it is the most populous state in Central America. A representative democracy, Guatemala's capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City.

The territory of modern Guatemala once formed the core of the Mayan civilization, which extended across Mesoamerica. Most of the country was conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century, becoming part of the viceroyalty of New Spain. Guatemala attained independence in 1821 as part of the Federal Republic of Central America, which dissolved in 1841.

La Aurora International Airport

La Aurora International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora) (IATA: GUA, ICAO: MGGT) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located 6.4 km (4.0 mi) south of Guatemala City's center and 25 km (16 mi) from Antigua Guatemala. It is administered by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil.

La Aurora International Airport is the primary airport of Guatemala. The airport went through a massive modernization and expansion. The airport is now able to accept a greater number of flights and larger aircraft. It provides high standard installations to the traveler. The old terminal has been renovated in accordance with its original design. It was partly demolished and was expanded with a new glass-designed concourse and is now able to accommodate up to twenty-two aircraft. The greater project was completed by December 2008. The airport currently has two terminals: Central and North.

La Aurora International Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Central America in terms of passenger traffic, surpassed only by Tocumen International Airport in Panamá, Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica, and Comalapa International Airport in El Salvador. In June 2007 the airport was certified as Category I; currently (2015), it is considered as Category 3 due to poor management of the installations and government issues, certified by the FAA.

International airport

An international airport is an airport that offers customs and immigration facilities for passengers travelling between countries. International airports are typically larger than domestic airports and often feature longer runways and facilities to accommodate the heavier aircraft commonly used for international and intercontinental travel. International airports often also host domestic flights. Some, such as Frankfurt Airport in Germany are very large; others such as Fa'a'ā International Airport in Tahiti, are quite small.

Buildings, operations and management have become increasingly sophisticated since the mid 20th century, when international airports began to provide infrastructure for international civilian flights. Detailed technical standards have been developed to ensure safety and common coding systems implemented to provide global consistency. The physical structures that serve millions of individual passengers and flights are among the most complex and interconnected in the world. By the second decade of the 21st century, there were over 1,200 international airports and almost two billion international passengers along with 50 million metric tonnes of cargo were passing through them annually.