Ministro Pistarini International Airport 5.36

Ministro Pistarini International Airport, known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in the Ezeiza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport south-southwest of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. It is the country's largest international airport by number of passengers handled—85% of international traffic—and is a hub for international flights of Aerolíneas Argentinas and LATAM Argentina. Aerolineas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral Lineas Aereas do operate limited domestic or cabotaje air service from Pistarini Airport as well. Covering 3,475 hectares, the airport serves Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area. It has been operated by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 S.A. since 1998.Ministro Pistarini Airport was voted "2007 best airport in the region" following a survey carried out by Skytrax. It dropped to third place in 2010, behind Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and Jorge Chávez International Airport.HistoryThe airport was named after the general and politician Juan Pistarini (1882–1956). He, as Minister of Public Works, placed the cornerstone of the project on 22 December 1945. It was designed and erected by Argentine technicians, Its construction was one of the major projects in the five-year plan of the first presidency of Juan Perón. When it opened, it was the third-largest airport in the world.