Airport type Public / Military Elevation AMSL 246 ft / 75 m Code BHI Phone +54 291 486-0325 Yearly aircraft movements 3,219 | Serves Bahía Blanca 06/24 2,030 Elevation 75 m Province Buenos Aires Province Passenger count 95,764 | |
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Owner/Operator Municipalidad de Bahía Blanca Location Ex Ruta 3, Km 675 (B8000) Address Ex Ruta 3 Norte, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina Similar Base Aeronaval Comanda, Avis Rent A Car, ESTACIÓN SUD, Terminal De Omnibus | ||
Comandante Espora Airport (IATA: BHI, ICAO: SAZB), also known as Bahía Blanca Airport, is a domestic airport in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, which is served by Aerolíneas Argentinas, LADE, and LAN Argentina.
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Espora is also the main base of the Argentine Naval Aviation, and was given the identifier BACE by the Argentine Navy.
History
Comandante Espora Air Naval Base was built in the 1930s to replace the old Puerto Belgrano Air Naval Base, which could not support the newer aircraft that the Argentine Naval Aviation was adding. The new base was built in grounds close to the existing Bahía Blanca Airfield (Spanish: Aeródromo Civil de Bahía Blanca, also known as Villa Harding Green), located approximately 5 kilometers from Bahía Blanca and 25 kilometers from Puerto Belgrano Naval Base. The new airfield was opened on 16 June 1939 as per Decree Nº 33.684/939.
Between 1945 and 1964 it was the location of the Naval Aviation School, and in 1970 the Naval Aviation Command headquarters were located at Comandante Espora.
From 1968 it was opened to civil and commercial traffic replacing the old civil airstrip at Villa Harding Green, the installations and runway were expanded and in 1972 were released to the commercial traffic linking the Argentine South. In September 1977 new runway extensions that allow aircraft of Boeing 767 size were completed. Terminal was reconstructed in 2013, and in July 2015, the two main runways (16R/34L and 16L/34R) changed its designation due to magnetic declination to 17R/35L and 17L/35R. The latter, being 2,616 m (8,583 ft) long was repaved in 2014, so was also runway 06/24, with a new illumination system that allows both runway to operate on night conditions.
Naval Aviation units based at Comandante Espora
At Comandante Espora Naval Aviation Air Base (BACE) the following units are located: