Mar de Cortés International Airport (MMPE), SON
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Mar de Cortés International Airport (MMPE), serving Puerto Peñasco in Sonora, Mexico, is a single-runway field crossed by business aviation traffic monitored on the US side by FAA TFMSC as cross-border activity rather than total field movements. The airport's one concrete runway extends 8,202 feet, giving it length comparable to fields handling larger jet types despite its moderate traffic tier. Its position near the northern Gulf of California places it within roughly 113 nautical miles of the nearest metro area, with the closest charted neighbors spread across Arizona and Baja California.
Runways
Mar de Cortés International Airport has one paved runway, 18/36, 8,202 ft long and 148 ft wide, with a concrete surface.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Business aviation traffic
Mar de Cortés International Airport recorded 190 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in December. Cross-border business aviation traffic at MMPE peaks in December, with January, April, and May also showing higher activity than the mid-year and late-summer months.
Cross-border movements to the United States, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month December, 35 movements in 2025.
FAA TFMSC records a movement outside the United States only when the flight enters US airspace. This is cross-border traffic, not total activity at the airfield.
Source: FAA TFMSC, cross-border movements, 2025.
Alternates
Mar de Cortés International Airport has four alternates within 97 NM. The nearest alternate is Sells, 80.10 NM northeast.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at MMPE
We arrange catering, fuel and trip support here. Supplier prices reach you unchanged; our coordination fee sits on its own line.
The same order, priced two ways.
$1,200.00 catering order at MMPE.
Unchanged.
What the kitchen invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
It does not move with the size of the order.
At cost.
Passed on at the exact amount the processor took.
Market practice figures are industry averages, not a specific competitor.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the runway at MMPE?
Mar de Cortés International Airport has a single runway, designated 18/36, built of concrete and measuring 8,202 feet long by 148 feet wide. This length places MMPE among fields capable of accommodating a wide range of business jet types on a paved surface. There is no second runway listed for the airport, so all arrivals and departures use this one strip.
What does cross-border traffic data show for Mar de Cortés International Airport?
FAA TFMSC recorded 260 total operations and 190 business aviation operations at Mar de Cortés International Airport for 2025, reflecting cross-border movements tracked from the US side rather than the airport's full traffic count. This distinction matters for Mexican airports, where FAA figures capture only flights crossing the border rather than all local and domestic activity. The airport carries an ops tier of 2, indicating moderate cross-border business aviation volume.
When is business aviation traffic busiest at MMPE?
Business aviation traffic at MMPE, as tracked by FAA TFMSC, peaks in December with 35 operations, well above every other month in 2025. January, April, and May also show relatively strong activity, each with 20 or more operations. By contrast, February and September see the lowest counts, at 8 operations each, indicating a clear seasonal concentration around the winter holiday period.
What airports are near Puerto Peñasco's Mar de Cortés International Airport?
The closest charted neighbor to Mar de Cortés International Airport is Sells, located about 80 nautical miles away on a bearing of 64 degrees. San Felipe International Airport lies roughly 81 nautical miles to the southwest, while Puerto Libertad North Airport sits about 92 nautical miles to the south. Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field is the most distant of the four, at approximately 97 nautical miles to the north.