|
|
Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (IATA Airport Code MAZ) is a small, commercial airport located in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Named after the celebrated Mayagüez native Eugenio Maria de Hostos (who gained fame as a teacher in both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic), this airport used to be the main air gateway to the western region of Puerto Rico, until Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla took over that position.
The airport was served heavily by the Puerto Rican national air carrier, Prinair, during the 1970s and early 1980s. It took the airport three years to get commercial service again once Prinair went bankrupt in 1984. American Eagle opened service from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in 1987, and Eastern Airlines, not to be outdone by their rival American's feeder carrier, soon began services there too, with their own feeder airline, Eastern Metro Express.
Although the airport has always been a turbo-prop airplane airport, Pan Am announced, in 2002, intentions to install jet flights between Mayagüez and Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with Boeing 727s. Those plans never became a reality, but in 2003, the airport gained international status, when Fina Air picked up the route to Santo Domingo.
The airport has been involved in various air tragedies: A Prinair Heron airplane fell while landing there, killing all nine passengers. In 1989, an American Eagle airplane flying to San Juan from Mayagüez also crashed, killing five passengers.
American Eagle Flight 5401, which took off from Mayagüez, crashed at San Juan on May 9, 2004, with 26 injured, but with no fatalities.
On November 8, 2004, American Eagle filed a 90-day notice of intent to the DOT to end service to Mayagüez on February 5, 2005 due to poor loads. MAZ is an Essential Air Service market therefore American Eagle's service was extended by the DOT until the newly selected carrier, Cape Air, began operations. American Eagle ended operations on April 30, 2005.