Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport (MZBZ) is Belize's principal international gateway, lying at Ladyville on the coast a short distance north of Belize City. It offers a single long paved runway with an ILS approach and full air traffic control, serving as the hub for Tropic Air and Maya Island Air alongside a range of international carriers.
Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport, known by its ICAO code MZBZ and IATA code BZE, is the primary international airport for Belize and serves Belize City, the country's largest city. The field sits at Ladyville on the eastern coast of Central America and is named after the Belizean politician Philip S. W. Goldson, who died in 2001. It is the hub for regional carriers Tropic Air and Maya Island Air and handles international jet services, making it the busiest and most significant airport in Belize for the visiting or transiting VFR pilot.
The airport lies at Ladyville in the Belize District, on the coast about ten miles from the centre of Belize City. Belize City's low-lying, flood-prone terrain surrounds the field, and Price Barracks, a military installation formerly known as Airport Camp, sits just to the north. Belize's capital was relocated inland to Belmopan partly because of the flooding risk in this coastal area, though the airport remains the country's principal aerodrome.
The airport has one physical runway, 07/25, aligned roughly east-west. It is 7087 feet long with a hard surface and is lit for night operations. Runway 07 is equipped with an ILS approach. Field elevation is 13 feet.
Air traffic services are provided under the callsign Belize Tower on 118 MHz. Approach control operates as Belize Approach on 121 MHz, ground movements are handled on 121.9 MHz, and Belize Radio operates on 126.9 MHz. Runway 07 is served by an ILS approach.
The airport was originally known as Stanley Field, later becoming Belize International Airport before being renamed Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport on 7 February 1988 in honour of the politician. Because of the long-running Belizean-Guatemalan territorial dispute, the field has hosted a number of military units over the decades, including Headquarters British Forces Belize, No. 1417 (Tactical Ground Attack) Flight RAF flying Harrier jump jets, No. 1563 (Helicopter Support) Flight RAF, resident RAF Regiment anti-aircraft squadrons, Army Air Corps helicopter units and the Belize Defence Force; in 1984 a senior US Air Force general reportedly described it as the best-defended airfield in Central America. The airport's airline history stretches back to 1950, when TACA Airlines operated Douglas DC-4 services to New Orleans and San Salvador, later introducing Vickers Viscount turboprops on a wider regional routing. British West Indian Airways, in association with BOAC, began Vickers Viking and later Viscount services linking Belize with Kingston, Jamaica from 1953. By the early 1980s the field was served by jet operators including Air Florida, SAHSA, TACA International and TAN Airlines with Boeing 727 and 737 equipment, while the locally based Belize Airways Ltd operated Boeing 720 and BAC One-Eleven jets to Miami, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador and La Ceiba between 1977 and 1980.
Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport remains Belize's busiest airport and serves as the hub for the domestic and regional carriers Tropic Air and Maya Island Air, alongside a range of international airlines. A paved access road from the George Price Highway, completed in the mid-2020s, connects the airport directly to the terminal side of the field.