Aviation History
Honduras has an outsized place in Central American aviation history as the birthplace of TACA in 1931, and for decades relied on SAHSA (founded 1945) as its flag carrier until SAHSA's 1993–1994 collapse left the country without a national airline. Civil aviation infrastructure has also been defined by Tegucigalpa's notoriously short, hemmed-in Toncontín runway, which the government addressed by opening the new Palmerola International Airport in 2021 for international traffic.
New Zealand-born aviator Lowell Yerex founded Central American Air Transports (TACA) in Honduras, later expanding it into a multi-country Central American airline group.
Servicio Aéreo de Honduras S.A. (SAHSA) was established as a joint venture between Pan American Airways, the Honduran government, and private investors, becoming Honduras's long-running flag carrier.
SAHSA acquired its first Boeing 737-200 in October 1974, transitioning from piston-engine DC-3/DC-2 domestic service to jet operations and expanding to Miami and Houston.
SAHSA merged with Transportes Aéreos Nacionales (TAN) to form TAN-SAHSA, though flights continued to be marketed under the SAHSA name.
After losing its FAA operating certificate and struggling with a poor safety record, SAHSA ceased operations in late 1993 and was formally disbanded in January 1994, leaving Honduras without a flag carrier.
Built at the Soto Cano/Palmerola air base, the new airport opened in October 2021 to take over international flights from Tegucigalpa's dangerously constrained Toncontín airport.
TACA (historical) · SAHSA (historical) · Aerolíneas Sosa
Wikipedia, ABC News, CAPA/AirlineGeeks aviation history reporting