AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Travel International arrivals in San Pedro

the reason why they all takeoff with for the most part a tailwind is because:
#1 They would have to taxi to the other end of the runway therefore delaying other departing flights, and incoming flights.
#2 there is enough available runway to takeoff with a tail wind
#3 its at the Pilots discretion how he/she wants to takeoff.

I agree I would contact Tropic/Maya and discuss this with them.
Note: theres really not enough room for a terminal big enough to house customs,immigration, with departing flights, and arriving flights.

Again people, a small customs office is all that is needed. Space is really not at issue. If anyone has ever flown to the Bahama out islands you would understand better. They have many very small strips with sometimes tiny customs offices with a single customs officer to accept/clear international arrivals.

I agree that the volume of flights is an issue, however; I don't think allowing direct to San Pedro flights will cause a dramatic increase in flights. It will just make some peoples trip more convenient and possibly more economical if a Cancun - San Pedro route can be established.

You have been advised in the next step in your quest - so please do report back when you have progress updates. You can hash the subject to death on this thread but you aren't talking to the powers that be.

Steve Schulte and Manuel Heridia Jr. are the folks to discuss this with. Steve has operated Cancun/Belize runs in the past and he has many stories to tell - but not here...

Tropic Air and Maya Island Air cannot fly to Mexico, for the same reason they cannot currently fly to Guatemala. Belize does not currently meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and FAA safety oversight standards and is listed as a Category 2 country.

Category 2 airlines cannot fly into Category 1 countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, the U.S. and so on. Honduras is a Category 2 country, which is why for a time Maya Island Air was able to fly to San Pedro Sula. (Believe that service has since been cancelled.)

--Lan Sluder

Think direct flights from Cancun to San Pedro would be a great idea, but Mexico is not cooperating much. Their rules make it very difficult to run a flight from Cancun. Lan, I think Tropic and Maya can already fly to Guatemala again; they just are not doing it at the moment.

No they do not fly to Guatemala because their status has not been upgraded. They are still category 2.

Short, where did you get that information? They would fly to Flores in a heartbeat if they could, which they can't.

--Lan Sluder

A bit condescending there Lan - two ears and one mouth for a good reason.

1. It is unlikely that there will ever be direct international flights to or from San Pedro except from very close destinations. The primary reason is the length of the runway. Cancun is 200 nautical miles from San Pedro, a relatively long distance that would require a specialized high speed commuter airliner. Since such an aircraft would necessarily be a twin engine, commercial twin engine aircraft are required to reach flying speed and lose an engine and either get airborne or come to a complete stop in a certain distance. This is called the "balance field length". San Pedro is 3000 ft long which is more than enough for anything from a twin otter (which is a short landing and take off aircraft) or any of the aircraft that take off here, but would be way too short for any of the afore mentioned high speed commercial twins. The existing ramp space is also limiting . And finally, it makes more sense for a small government to concentrate all its international flights through one airport for commercial and security reasons.

2. The category 1 or category 2 (compliant or non-compliant) ratings are issued by the American FAA and rate the countries ability to provide oversight. They do not rate the airlines nor do they care about flights that do not touch the United States. Any of the Belizean airlines could fly to Mexico by simply negotiating this right with the Mexicans.

3. Jet fuel storage is not an issue. It is essentially the same as diesel which is stored and dispensed in San Pedro with no problem. Once again space would be an issue with the airstrip.

4. The local airlines depart to the SW because in the event of an engine failure there are better emergency landing sites. It also lessens the noise pollution over the center of town.

5. Finally, Tropic and Maya's permission to fly into Guatemala was suspended by their former director of civil aviation for political and personal reasons. Tropic Air was recently approached by the new director to begin flights again. Once again, Belize's American non compliant oversite rating had nothing to do with the suspension of this service.

John E Greif III
President
Tropic Air

Lan, someone from Tropic told me that a while back, see also Jesse's post: