Flying to Nicaragua
Managua´s International Airport (MGA) is the main port of entry for international air travelers, followed by the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border crosspoint of Peñas Blancas. Honduras-Nicaragua has multiple points of entry by land.
For the convenience of tourists, we will list the IATA airport code below for the most popular points of origin.
Nicaragua's International Airports
MGA - Managua International Airport, also called Augusto Cesar Sandino Airport or Aeropuerto Las Mercedes served by all major international airlines, including American, Delta, United, Spirit, Avianca-Taca, Copa, AeroMexico.
ECI - Aeropuerto Internacional Costa Esmeralda, Nicaragua's second international airport located in Rivas, about 2:30 hrs from Managua, served by one regional airline SANSA with 4 times per week flights from San Jose Costa Rica, and charter planes.
Nicaragua's National Airports
The IATA code of local airports below are served by a national airline to and from MGA Managua airport.
BZA - Bonanza, RAAN
SIU - Siuna, RAAN
WPM - Waspan, RAAN
PZA - Puerto Cabezas, RAAN
BLU - Bluefields
CIS - Corn Island
CENTRAL AMERICAN & MEXICO Airports Connecting with MGA Airport
These are the Central American and Mexican airports (IATA code) with direct (*) or one stop connection with Managua Airport (MGA):
Code - City, Country
MEX - Mexico City, Mexico *
PTY - Panamá City, Panama *
SJO - San José, Costa Rica *
SAL - San Salvador, El Salvador *
GUA - Guatemala City, Guatemala *
LIR - Liberia, Costa Rica
BZE - Belize City, Belize
SAP - San Pedro Sula, Honduras *
TGU - Tegucigalpa, Honduras *
RTB - Roatán, Honduras
DAV - David, Panama
PAC - Panamá City, Panama
LCE - La Ceiba, Honduras
BLB - Panamá City, Panama
FRS - Flores/Tikal, Guatemala
RIH - Río Hato, Panama
CUN - Cancun, Mexico
PVT - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
MTY - Monterrey, Mexico
If you fly to Costa Rica, there are several inexpensive land options to reach Nicaragua, one is from San Jose (SJO) you take a regional bus (Nicabus, Ticabus) to Managua. From Liberia (LIR), Guanacaste, Costa Rica you may take a local bus (about 1 hour) to the border or a local taxi and coordinate with a pick up service from Nicaragua, companies like Budget Rent a Car offer the pick up service at Piedras Negras border crossing.
For a full list of roads and cities in Nicaragua visit our page here.
South American & Caribbean Airports Connecting with MGA Airport
These airports connect with Managua via a third airport, typically Panama, El Salvador, Miami or Atlanta:
Code - City, Country
GRU - São Paulo, Brazil
BOG - Bogotá, Colombia
CGH - São Paulo, Brazil
GIG - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
BSB - Brasília, Brazil
SCL - Santiago, Chile
LIM - Lima, Peru
CCS - Caracas, Venezuela
CNF - Belo Horizonte, Brazil
AEP - Buenos Aires, Argentina
VCP - Campinas, Brazil
SDU - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
SSA - Salvador, Brazil
EZE - Buenos Aires, Argentina
POA - Porto Alegre, Brazil
REC - Recife, Brazil
CWB - Curitiba, Brazil
FOR - Fortaleza, Brazil
UIO - Quito, Ecuador
MDE - Medellín, Colombia
SJU - San Juan, Puerto Rico
PUJ - Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic
HAV - Havana, Cuba
MBJ - Montego Bay, Jamaica
SDQ - Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic
NAS - Nassau, the Bahamas
POS - Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
AUA - Aruba, the Netherlands
PTP - Pointe-à-Pitre, France
BGI - Bridgetown, Barbados
FDF - Fort-de-France, France
CUR - Curaçao, the Netherlands
SXM - St. Maarten, the Netherlands
KIN - Kingston, Jamaica
PAP - Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
STT - Saint Thomas, the United States Virgin Islands
STI - Santiago, the Dominican Republic
ADZ - San Andrés, Colombia
VRA - Varadero, Cuba
GCM - Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands
TAB - Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
POP - Puerto Plata, the Dominican Republic
ANU - Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda
UVF - Vieux Fort Quarter, Saint Lucia
BQN - Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
BON - Bonaire, the Netherlands
STX - Saint Croix, the United States Virgin Islands
SKB - Saint Kitts, Saint Kitts and Nevis
EIS - Tortola, the British Virgin Islands
SLU - Castries, Saint Lucia
SCU - Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
LRM - La Romana, the Dominican Republic
PSE - Ponce, Puerto Rico
VQS - Vieques, Puerto Rico
AZS - Samaná, the Dominican Republic
NORTH American Airports Connecting with MGA Airport
These airports connect with Managua directly (*) or via a third airport, typically San Salvador, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, or Houston.
Since the list of US airports is enormous, this list only includes the IATA code of those where most traffic originates from whose final destination is Nicaragua:
Code - City, Country
MIA - Miami, FL *
ATL - Atlanta, GA *
IAH - Houston, TX *
FLL - Fort Lauderdale, FL *
LAX - Los Angeles, CA
JFK - New York, NY
ORD - Chicago, IL
DFW - Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
DEN - Denver, CO
SFO - San Francisco, CA
SEA - Seattle/Tacoma, WA
LAS - Las Vegas, NV
MCO - Orlando, FL
EWR - New York/Newark, NJ
CLT - Charlotte, NC
PHX - Phoenix, AZ
BOS - Boston, MA
MSP - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
DTW - Detroit, MI
PHL - Philadelphia, PA
LGA - New York, NY
BWI - Baltimore/Washington, D.C., MD
SLC - Salt Lake City, UT
SAN - San Diego, CA
IAD - Washington, D.C., VA
DCA - Washington, D.C., VA
TPA - Tampa, FL
YYZ - Toronto , Canada
YVR - Vancouver , Canada
YUL - Montréal , Canada
YYC - Calgary , Canada
YOW - Ottawa , Canada
YWG - Winnipeg , Canada
YHZ - Halifax , Canada
YEG - Edmonton , Canada
YYJ - Victoria , Canada
YQB - Québec City , Canada
YLW - Kelowna , Canada
YXE - Saskatoon , Canada
WORLD Airports Connecting with MGA Airport
These world airports connect with Managua via a third airport, and many times, two connections. The list does not include airports in North, Central or South America, which are listed above.
Since the list of world airports is enormous, this list only includes the IATA codes of those where most traffic originates from whose final destination is Nicaragua:
Code - City, Country
CDG - Paris, France
AMS - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BRU - Brussels, Belgium
FCO - Rome, Italy
LON - London, England
MAD - Madrid, Spain
BCN - Barcelona, Spain
LIS - Lisbon, Portugal
LUX - Luxembourg
FRA - Frankfurt, Germany
MUC - Munich, Germany
BER - Berlin, Germany
MXP - Milan, Italy
VIE - Vienna, Austria
PRG - Prague, Czech Republic
OSL - Oslo, Norway
MOW - Moscow, Russia
ATH - Athens, Greece
BEG - Belgrade, Northern Ireland
HEL - Helsinki, Finland
DUB - Dublin, Ireland
BUD - Budapest, Hungary
BUH - Bucharest, Romania
IEV - Kiev, Ukraine
MCM - Monaco
SOF - Sofia, Bulgaria
STO - Stockholm, Sweden
WAW - Warsaw, Poland
ZRH - Zurich, Switzerland
PEK - Beijing, China
PVG - Shanghai, China
DXB - Dubai
HND - Haneda, Japan
HKG - Hong Kong, China
DEL - Delhi, India
ICN - Seoul, South Korea
CGK - Jakarta, Indonesia
SIN - Singapore, Singapore
BKK - Bangkok, Thailand
BOM - Mumbai, India
NRT - Tokyo, Japan
SAW - Istanbul, Turkey
HAN - Hanoi, Vietnam
TLV - Tel Aviv, Israel