Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Antonio Maceo International Airport (MUCU) is the principal gateway to Santiago de Cuba, a substantial international field a few kilometres southwest of the city that handles both domestic traffic and holiday flights to the resorts along the south-eastern coast. For a simulator pilot it offers a long ILS-equipped main runway alongside a shorter crosswind strip, set against the backdrop of Cuba's mountainous south coast.
Antonio Maceo International Airport, named after Lieutenant General Jose Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales, second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence, serves Santiago de Cuba, the country's second largest city and capital of Santiago de Cuba Province. It is a medium-size international airport handling a mix of domestic traffic, roughly four-fifths of movements, and international flights, including seasonal holiday traffic bound for the resorts stretching from Chivirico to Baconao, particularly in the December to April high season. For a visiting VFR or IFR pilot in the simulator, it presents an interesting mix of a long, ILS-served runway suited to airliners and a much shorter crosswind runway, all within reach of Cuba's dramatic south-coast terrain.
The airport lies in the south-eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, about 7 km (4 miles) southwest of downtown Santiago de Cuba, on the Carretera del Morro. It sits within Cuban controlled airspace, with Santiago approach control providing service to arriving and departing traffic. Nearby distances of note for route planning include Guantanamo City around 100 km to the east, Bayamo about 141 km to the northwest, and Holguin City some 154 km to the north.
The field has two physical runways. The main runway, 10/28, is a hard-surfaced, lit runway some 12,138 to 12,149 feet in length, with an ILS serving runway 10. The secondary runway, 01/19, is a shorter hard-surfaced, lit runway of about 4,420 feet, without an instrument approach. Field elevation is 210 feet.
Radio services are provided under the callsigns Santiago Radio and Maceo Tower. Santiago Radio operates on an air-ground frequency of 126.9 MHz, with a secondary frequency of 1132.1 MHz. Santiago Approach can be contacted on 119.4 MHz, and Maceo Tower operates on 118.1 MHz. Runway 10 is equipped with an ILS for instrument approaches.
The airport lies close to the coastline southwest of Santiago de Cuba, with the Sierra Maestra range and the resort coastline running from Chivirico to Baconao providing prominent visual features to the south and east for pilots inbound along the coast.
The airport is named in memory of Lieutenant General Jose Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (1845-1896), who served as second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence, reflecting the field's connection to Cuba's independence history.
Antonio Maceo International Airport functions as the main airport for Santiago de Cuba, handling a majority of domestic flights alongside a smaller proportion of international services, including seasonal charter traffic to the nearby coastal resorts. It has a single passenger terminal and a cargo terminal, with twelve aircraft stands; there are no jetbridges, so mobile staircases are used for boarding and disembarkation.
