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La Chinita International Airport (SVMC) is the principal gateway to western Venezuela, serving the city of Maracaibo from a large site in the municipality of San Francisco, Zulia State. It is a public and military field operated by the state aviation authority BAER, offering long paved runways and an ILS approach that make it a substantial destination for airliner and general aviation traffic alike in the simulator.
La Chinita International Airport lies south-west of Maracaibo, Venezuela's second city, in the municipality of San Francisco. It is operated by BAER, the state-owned Venezuelan aviation authority, and serves as a hub for Venezolana and a focus city for Conviasa, alongside a range of domestic and international carriers. For a simulator pilot it offers a mix of long hard-surfaced runways, an ILS approach, and a busy mixed civil/military environment typical of a major South American regional airport.
The airport sits in the municipality of San Francisco, Zulia State, to the south-west of Maracaibo proper. It is Venezuela's second most important airport by aircraft and passenger movements after Simón Bolívar International near Caracas, and functions as the main airway gateway to the western part of the country.
La Chinita has two parallel hard-surfaced runways. The main runway, 03L/21R, is 9,843 feet long, lit, and equipped with an ILS on the 03L threshold. The secondary runway, 03R/21L, is 8,219 feet long and also lit. Field elevation is 220 feet.
Maracaibo Approach operates on 120.2 MHz, with ATIS broadcast on 115.7 MHz. Ground movements are handled on 121.9 MHz, and Maracaibo Tower operates on 118.9 MHz, with an additional radio frequency of 132 MHz listed for Maracaibo RDO. The main runway, 03L, is served by an ILS approach.
The airport is located south-west of central Maracaibo, within the municipality of San Francisco, providing a straightforward visual reference for pilots approaching from the city.
The airport's construction was accelerated following the crash of Viasa Flight 742 on 16 March 1969, which killed 155 people and led to the closure of the city's previous airport, Grano de Oro, situated too close to the city centre and surrounded by residential neighbourhoods. La Chinita opened on 16 November 1969 during the administration of President Rafael Caldera, intended to give the western part of Venezuela its own major gateway and to relieve pressure on Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas, which at the time handled about half of the country's international flights. The site was originally known as Caujarito Airport, after the land on which it was built, before being renamed La Chinita in honour of the patron saint of Zulia State, the Virgen de Chiquinquirá. Two notable accidents have occurred at or near the airport: the loss of a Línea Aeropostal Venezolana Vickers Viscount shortly after take-off on 1 November 1971, with all four occupants killed, and the crash of Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108 into a nearby mountain shortly after take-off on 5 March 1991, which killed all 45 on board.
La Chinita continues to operate as a major civil and military airport, serving as a hub for Venezolana and a focus city for Conviasa, with services also operated by carriers including Avianca, Avior Airlines, LASER Airlines, RUTACA Airlines, Turpial Airlines, Copa Airlines and American Eagle, alongside cargo operations. The airport complex is substantial, and its dual-runway layout with ILS support allows it to handle a significant volume of airline traffic destined for Maracaibo and the wider Zulia region.