Ilopango International Airport
Ilopango International Airport
Ilopango International Airport (IATA: ILS, ICAO: MSSS) is an airport located on the eastern part of the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, once serving the city as its international airport until 1980 when it was replaced by the larger and more modern El Salvador International Airport, located about 50 km south of the city. Currently, Ilopango is used for military, air taxi, and charter aviation only. It also holds the annual Ilopango Air Show. The airport is also home to the National Aviation Museum (Museo Nacional de Aviación) of San Salvador, which is housed in the old terminal building.
Location
13.700°N, 89.120°O · 618 m s. n. m. (2.027 ft)
General data
Runways · 1
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 4
Tower
Ground
Approach
Flight information
Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.
History
On 27 April 1964, more than 5,000 spectators were present when Pan Am Flight 503 operated by a Boeing 707-321B landed at Ilopango International Airport. It was the first jet airliner to land at Ilopango International Airport. Ilopango was one of the largest and busiest airports in Central America. During the civil war, due to its location, it was targeted for bombing by guerrillas. It ended its international service in January 1980, with the construction of the larger, more modern Comalapa International Airport. It played a role in the Iran-Contra affair when it was used by the Reagan administration's dummy corporations to fly funding and arms to the Contra rebels in the Nicaraguan Civil War. Currently, there is a plan involving modernization and enlargement of the airport to accommodate modern aircraft. In 2001, the administration of the airport passed from the military to the Comisión Ejecutiva Portuaria Autónoma (CEPA), which is in charge of planning the modernization project.
Photo: Olivia Isabel Flores · CC BY-SA 3.0 · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Ilopango International Airport (ILS). Retrieved October 26, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ILS
MLA
“Ilopango International Airport (ILS).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ILS. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Ilopango International Airport (ILS).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ILS.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Ilopango International Airport (ILS). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ILS (Accessed: 26 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_ils,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Ilopango International Airport (ILS)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ILS},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ILS}},
urldate = {2026-10-26},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-26}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ILS |title=Ilopango International Airport (ILS) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-26 |language=en}}