Member's Home Forums General Discussion Mexico Mexico Airports MMPE - Puerto Peñasco MMPE PIREP

Punto Penasco, MMPE is a great airport of entry. New facilities, very little traffic (average 8 ops per day) so very GA friendly. Of note the DGAC and immigration do NOT accept credit cards and there are no ATMs onsite. The closest ATM is in the city of Punto Penasco which, while nice to visit, is about 20-30 minutes away from the airport. Therefore, make sure you come with plenty of dollars or preferably pesos so you don't get gouged on the exchange rate. While ASA (fuel) and the airport itself (landing fee, parking fee if necessary, passenger fee etc.) do nominally accept credit cards, it may be hit or miss and if your bank blocks your cards for suspicious activity as mine did, you will be SOL.

Be sure to arrive before 4PM as the airport closes at 5PM and the overtime fees are exorbitant (both the airport and the DGAC will charge separate overtime fees, and SENEAM will also charge overtime fees if air traffic control is necessary). Expect to spend about an hour, perhaps more, clearing immigration, getting an entry permit, refueling, filing a flight plan and taking off.

All this being said, the staff here are EXTREMELY friendly. In our case, we arrived late due to headwinds, landing at 4:40. Then, we discovered the DGAC didn't accept cards. Despite keeping the DGAC and airport staff on site until 530+, both the DGAC and the airport waived our overtime fees. Not only that, the airport manager, Alonso, gave us a ride into town, stopping by an ATM and dropping us off at a hotel. He also picked us up the next morning to take us back to the airport. We tipped him 400 pesos, which is eminently reasonable considering the long drive in both directions and his patience at the bank as I tried to get my cards unblocked. The lesson here is to be as nice as possible to all the staff, be knowledgeable and come prepared, respect the Mexican system and the way things are done (often at a more leisurely pace than in the US), tip liberally, etc. so when things go wrong, as they often do, they will bat for you and help you to the extent possible.

As for the airport fees themselves, they are quite reasonable. The DGAC, immigration, ASA and airport staff are all extremely friendly and top notch service all around. Oh, and if you aren't familiar with ICAO flight plans, the DGAC here will actually fill out your flight plan for you if necessary (but please come prepared and knowledgeable as you'll have a better experience).

All in all, highly recommended AOE if looking to fly down the pacific coast (not the Baja coast) to a destination in Sonora, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Nayarit etc (eg Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, etc.) Just remember to bring plenty of cash so you don't get stranded (to be safe, I would bring about 8-10,000 pesos which should amply cover fuel (about $4/gal currently including taxes), entry permit fees, immigration, and airport fees, and any tips) and arrive with plenty of time to spare to avoid overtime fees.

As always, call ahead to confirm, the airport staff or DGAC seem happy to answer any questions by phone. And, if you have time, a visit to the town of Penasco (pop 60K or so) is worth a visit (taxi is apparently approx. $27 each way).

Also note, there is NO public wifi at the airport. There is 4G cell service but if you don't have international data plan you won't be able to access the Internet. Just FYI.

a good trip report, thanks for the update. glad you had a good time.