Honduras: Toncontin Airport is Opened Today

President Zelaya, commonly known as "Mel", finally gave way to petitions from the private and social sector to re-open Toncontin Airtport, (Tegucigalpa's International Airport).

Mel had immediately shut down the airport after Taca flight 390's crash landing on may 30th, 2008. The plane had failed to stop on its second attempt to land on Toncontin's short runway. The accident took the lives of 4 people, two of them commuters who where driving on a busy avenue near the airport.

The incident was known world wide and Mel found himself interviewed by hard ball reporter's from CNN, that very same day. The president spontaneously declared to the media that he would shut down the airport and that the actions would be taken to construct a new international airport in Comayagua. This took most of the country by surprise; it was common knowledge that Toncontin is one of the most dangerous airports in the world and that the government has been planning to move it to the old U.S. Airforce base, comonly called Palmerola (Also known a the "Enrique Soto Cano Air base" in Comayagua) for almost a decade now, but no serious actions had been taken. The 1980's base is about a hour and a half's drive from the city, in between Honduras's two biggest cities, San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.

Flight's where canceled and people where forced to fly into Toncontín only on small aircraft, the change and added travel complications of the country's capitol, made allot of people jump in both annoyance and confusion. Mel explained that the action was fundamentally good; it reduced the risk of loosing further lives to the runway.

It is thought that the president and his counselor's took the crash landing as an opportunity to push the construction of a new international airport in Palmerola, but having no international access to the country's political capitol was a little too much for "The people". There even was a face book group organizing people and protests in support of Toncontin!.

The Honduran Newspaper Diario La Tribuna said: (Translated) "Zelaya reacted while attending the Honduras Industry's first congress, in presence of members from the National Industrial Association (ANDI) and the Private Business Council (COHEP)".
"The Toncontín airport will be re-rehabilitated as long as it agrees not to fly category C and D flights"... (the big planes) ..."once the airport in Comayagua is ready". Confirmed the presidential office's private secretary, Raúl Valladares. Quote taken from: Diario La Tribuna

Happy remarks are heard all over the city!