|
Paraguay Air Service
Air transport, like the country's road system, was still
inadequate in the late 1980s but had grown considerably over the
previous two decades. Estimates of the country's total number of
airports were as high as 700. There were, however, only 400
registered airports, virtually all of which used dirt or grass
runways. Few airports were used commercially and on a regular
basis. The airports of several medium-sized cities, such as
Concepción, Filadelfia, Encarnación, and Pilar, needed improved
paving and lighting for runways.
In the late 1980s, Paraguay's only all-weather airports were at
Asunción--which handled all international flights--and Mariscal
Estigarribia. In April 1987, construction began on a second allweather , international airport at Puerto Presidente Stroessner.
Construction of the airport was undertaken by a Spanish firm using
Japanese equipment and financing. The high cost of the project--
upwards of US$100 million--and the prominent role of Japanese
consultants and equipment stirred controversy.
Paraguay was one of the last countries in the Western Hemisphere
to establish commercial air service. The first service was offered
in 1929 by an Argentine firm, and not until 1938 was regular air
service available. The country's international flag carrier was
Paraguayan Airlines (Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas--LAP). Government
owned and under the administrative control of the air force, LAP
carried approximately 70 percent of the country's air passengers in
the late 1980s. The air force's Military Air Transport (Transporte
Aéreo Militar) and the National Transport Airlines (Líneas Aéreas
de Transporte Nacional) offered domestic service. Numerous foreign
carriers also serviced the country: Braniff, Eastern, Varig
(Brazil), Iberia (Spain), Aerolíneas Argentinas, LAN-Chile, and
Bolivian Airlines being among them.
Data as of December 1988
|
