Aeronica


Aerolíneas Nicaragüenses S.A., operating as Aeronica, was an airline from Nicaragua. Headquartered in the capital Managua, it operated scheduled passenger flights within Central America, as well as to Mexico City and the United States out of its hub at the city's Augusto C. Sandino International Airport.

History

Aeronica was founded in 1981, as a consequence of the demise of LANICA in earlier that year. Between 1985 and 1990, when the United States embargo against Nicaragua was in effect, the airline was banned from serving the important United States market. Further, Soviet-built Tupolev TU-154M were introduced into the Aeronica fleet as spare parts for US-made aircraft such as the Boeing 707, Boeing 720B and Boeing 727 could not be acquired. In the early 1990s, Aeronica came under economic, laboral and political pressure. Many of the airline's workers organized a strike in February 1992, over the privatization of their national airline. On February 28, 1992, TACA acquired a 49 percent stake in the company, resulting in the loss of many jobs in Nicaragua. In the same year, the airline license of Aeronica was revoked and the airline shut down.
In 1994, Grupo TACA reestablished the airline as NICA Airlines, with new colors and fleet. Ten years afterwards, TACA shut down the airlines, due to marketing strategies in order to consolidate under the TACA Airlines branding in the region.

Destinations

During the 1980s, Aeronica offered scheduled international passenger flights to the following destinations:
;Costa Rica
;El Salvador
;Guatemala
;Mexico
;Nicaragua
;Panama
;United States
Over the years of its existence, Aeronica operated the following aircraft types:
AircraftIntroducedRetired
Antonov An-26
Antonov An-32
Boeing 707 / Boeing 720B
Boeing 727-100 / Boeing 727-200
CASA C-212 Aviocar
Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando
Douglas DC-6
Fokker F27 Friendship
Tupolev Tu-154M

Accidents and incidents