Ministro Pistarini International Airport - History

History

The airport was named after the general and politician Juan Pistarini (1882–1956). The first civilian flight from the then new London Heathrow Airport, a BSAA Avro Lancastrian, flew to Ministro Pistarini International Airport in 1946.

Completely designed and erected by Argentine technicians, the airport was built between 1945 and 1949. Its construction was one of the major projects included in the five-year plan of the first presidency of Juan Perón. At the time it was inaugurated it was the largest airport in Latin America, the third largest in the world, and the only one with three crossed runways (05/23, 11/29 and 17/35) that resembled the shape on an equilateral triangle. In 1997, RWY 05/23 was closed, and now it is used for large aircraft (such as the Airbus A340 or Boeing 747) for parking while cleaning and refueling.

The Ezeiza massacre took place in the airport in 1973.

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