Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Ensenada International Airport (MMES) is a joint military and civil aerodrome on the Pacific coast of Baja California, home to Mexican Air Force Base No. 3 El Ciprés and a base for general aviation, air taxi and flight training operations. Its single asphalt runway sits close to the shoreline just off the Transpeninsular Highway south of the city of Ensenada, making it a useful and visually distinctive VFR destination for pilots exploring the Baja coast.
MMES serves the city of Ensenada as both a military installation, Air Force Base No. 3 (Base Aérea Militar No. 3, El Ciprés), and a civil aerodrome offering general aviation, air taxi and commuter services. It is operated by the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense and is named after Alberto L. Salinas Carranza, a noted Mexican aviator of the revolutionary era. For a sim pilot it is an interesting stop on the Baja California peninsula: a working military base with resident training squadrons sitting alongside a modest civil apron used for regional flights and flying training.
The airfield lies within the Ensenada urban zone on the Pacific coast of Baja California, with its main entrance on Federal Highway 1, the Carretera Transpeninsular, at kilometre 114. Tijuana's airport lies some 80 kilometres to the north and San Diego International Airport about 110 kilometres further north again, both used by travellers needing onward international connections that Ensenada itself does not offer. The runway runs close to the beach, with the coastline forming an immediate backdrop to approaches from the seaward side.
The field has a single physical runway, 11/29, of 4,875 feet on a hard (asphalt) surface. There is no ILS available, so approaches are flown visually.
Tower service is provided on 119.75 MHz. No published instrument approach or navaid information is available for the field, reflecting its primarily visual flying environment.
The runway lies immediately adjacent to the Pacific shoreline, with runway 11 offering a clear view from the beachside, a useful visual cue when approaching from over the water. The airfield's position directly alongside the Carretera Transpeninsular (Federal Highway 1) at km 114 provides a further easily identified ground reference for pilots tracking the coast road into Ensenada.
The site began life in 1942 as the El Ciprés Military Airfield, established during the Second World War. On 31 August 1955, under President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines and with General Alfonso Cruz Rivera heading the Mexican Air Force, it was formally decreed the Third Military Air Base of El Ciprés. The base has since operated primarily for military purposes and is today home to Squadron 203, which flies the Beechcraft T-6C+ Texan II. During the administration of President Felipe Calderón, plans were drawn up for an entirely new international airport for Ensenada, with an initial investment estimated at 230 million Mexican pesos, but the project did not go ahead. A further legislative attempt in 2016 proposed a new airport near Ojos Negros, east of the city, which likewise was never built, and more recent (2025) proposals have discussed a possible new international airport near the Valle de Guadalupe, though these remain at the planning stage and MMES continues in its existing role.
The airport operates daily from 08:00 to 18:00. Alongside its role as Air Force Base No. 3, it supports air taxi flights and commuter services within the Baja California peninsula, including a route operated by Aéreo Servicio Guerrero to Guerrero Negro and Isla de Cedros. It also hosts flight training conducted by the Instituto Aeronáutico del Noroeste. Facilities include immigration and customs services reflecting its status as a designated international port of entry, a flight-dispatch office, a cafeteria, and workshops for aviation mechanics and electronics, alongside the base's own military infrastructure.