José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport

José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo; IATA: GYE, ICAO: SEGU) is an international airport serving Guayaquil, the capital of the Guayas Province and the second most populous city in Ecuador. It is the second busiest airport in Ecuador.

José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport

Ecuador Aeropuerto
Aeropuertojosejoaquindeolmedo.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorTerminal Aeroportuaria de Guayaquil S.A. (TAGSA)
ServesGuayaquil, Ecuador
Hub for
Elevation AMSL20 ft / 6.1 m
Coordinates02°09′27″S 79°53′01″W / 2.15750°S 79.88361°W / -2.15750; -79.88361Coordinates: 02°09′27″S 79°53′01″W / 2.15750°S 79.88361°W / -2.15750; -79.88361
Websitewww.tagsa.aero
Map
GYE is located in Ecuador
GYE
GYE
Location in Ecuador
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 2,790 9,154 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passenger movements3,745,552
Domestic passengers1,652,835
International Passengers2,097,717
Sources: TAGSA[1] WAD[2] Google Maps[3] GCM[4]

The airport was named after José Joaquín de Olmedo, a notable Ecuadorian poet, first mayor of Guayaquil, and former president of Ecuador. It was changed from Simón Bolívar International Airport, which is currently the name of the airports in Caracas, Venezuela, and Santa Marta, Colombia.

The airport is on the Avenida de las Américas, 5 kilometres (3 mi) north of Guayaquil's centre. The runway length of 2,790 metres (9,154 ft) includes a 240 metres (787 ft) displaced threshold on Runway 21 and a 100 metres (328 ft) displaced threshold on Runway 03. The runway can accommodate Boeing 747 and Airbus A340-600 aircraft. The airport is in the broad delta of the Guayas River, with level terrain in all quadrants.

In July 2014, the airport domestic area was enlarged; now the airport is capable of handling up to 7.5 million passengers per year. An exit tax is levied on all international tickets, however it is no longer required to pay at the window when exiting the country.[5]

HistoryEdit

The airport, which had the newest terminal in Ecuador, was renamed for José Joaquín de Olmedo in 2006, in preparation for the inauguration of the new 50,000 m2 (540,000 sq ft) national and international terminal on 27 July 2006. Although there was an inaugural flight on 28 July 2006, most airlines did not operate completely from the new terminal until August 2006. After that date, the old terminal was closed and it was later turned into a convention center.

The construction of the new terminal and expansion of the runway was finally decided in 2003–2004, years after making the decision that the current infrastructure was not sufficient to cover the city's needs, but that it was not yet commercially viable to build an entirely new airport in the Daular area.

The original project in 2003–2004 contemplated the construction of a 28,000 m2 (300,000 sq ft) international terminal and the continuing operation of the old terminal, which would be left to handle only domestic flights. However, it was later decided that the newer 50,000 m2 (540,000 sq ft) terminal would handle both national and international traffic, and the older terminal would be closed.[citation needed]

The airport is planned to serve the city of Guayaquil for 10 to 15 years starting in 2006. After this, it is expected to reach a capacity of 5 million passengers a year, and when this happens a new airport will be built in the Daular area, some 20 kilometers outside the city, near the highway that connects Guayaquil to Salinas and other coastal towns.[6]

José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport was named "Best Airport in Latin America 2008 & 2009" by BusinessWeek[7] and the second best in 2011.[8] All domestic flights going from the Ecuadorian mainland to the Galápagos Islands make a stop in Guayaquil to refuel and pick up passengers due to its location, which is the closest point in Ecuador to the islands.

Airlines and destinationsEdit

PassengerEdit

 
Arrivals area
 
A KLM Boeing 777-200ER at Guayaquil
AirlinesDestinations
Aeroregional Charter: Cartagena, Curaçao
Air Europa Madrid
American Airlines Miami
Arajet Santo Domingo–Las Américas[9]
Avianca Ecuador Baltra, Bogotá, Cartagena, Lima, Medellín–Córdova, New York–JFK, Quito, San Cristóbal
Avianca El Salvador San Salvador
Avioandes Charter: Esmeraldas
Conviasa Caracas
Copa Airlines Panama City–Tocumen
Equair Baltra, Quito, San Cristóbal
Iberia Madrid
JetBlue Fort Lauderdale, New York–JFK
KLM Amsterdam
LATAM Colombia Bogotá
LATAM Ecuador Baltra, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Cuenca,[10] Lima, Quito, San Cristóbal, Santiago de Chile
LATAM Perú Lima
Spirit Airlines Fort Lauderdale
Wingo Bogotá

CargoEdit

AirlinesDestinations
Avianca Cargo Quito
DHL Ecuador Quito, Panama City–Tocumen
UPS Airlines Miami

StatisticsEdit

Annual passenger traffic at GYE airport. See Wikidata query.
Busiest international routes (roundtrip) out of José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (2018)[11]
Rank Change City Passengers % Change Top carriers
1     Panama City, Panama 420.244   5,53% Copa Airlines
2     Bogotá, Colombia 267.958   12,81% Avianca Ecuador
3     Miami, United States 232.521   1,35% American Airlines
4     Lima, Peru 178.191   -7,53% Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador
5     New York-JFK, United States 161.076   -13,38% Eastern Airlines, JetBlue
6     Madrid, Spain 133.062   -20,18% Air Europa, Iberia
7   2   Fort Lauderdale, United States 118.050   130,34% JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines
8   1   Amsterdam, Netherlands 102.733   3,65% KLM
9   1   Santiago, Chile 101.293   4,52% LATAM Ecuador
10     San Salvador, El Salvador 60.378   19,19% Avianca El Salvador
11     Cali, Colombia 58.571   41,66% Avianca Ecuador
12     Barcelona, Venezuela 21.942   -50,13% Avior Airlines
13 New   Caracas, Venezuela 19.409   New Avior Airlines
Busiest domestic routes from José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (2018)[11]
Rank Change City Passengers % Change Top carriers
1     Quito, Pichincha 1,512,209   6,42% Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
2     Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands 229.034   2,28% Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
3     San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands 102.745   10,96% Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
4     Loja, Loja 7.590   -51,49% TAME
5     Cuenca, Azuay 2.180   -67,36% TAME

AccoladesEdit

  • 2011 – 2nd Best Airport in Latin America – Caribbean of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International[8] and Best Airport by Size in the 2 to 5 million passenger category.[12]

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ Terminal Aeroportuaria de Guayaquil S.A. (TAGSA) (in Spanish) Archived 9 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Airport information for SEGU from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  3. ^ Google Maps - Guayaquil
  4. ^ Airport information for Olmedo International Airport at Great Circle Mapper.
  5. ^ "Ecuador, Airport Exit Tax To Be Included in Purchase of Ticket". Latin America Current Events & News. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Timetable". Guayaquil Airport. 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  7. ^ "The World's Best Airports 2009". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  8. ^ a b "ASQ Award for Best Airport in Latin America – Caribbean" Airports Council International. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012
  9. ^ "Arajet inicia la venta de dos nuevos destinos internacionales". 28 August 2022.
  10. ^ "LATAM Ecuador to Resume Guayaquil – Cuenca Route in 3Q22". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b Censos, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y. "Transporte". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  12. ^ "ASQ Award for Best Airport by Size (2–5m)" Airports Council International. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012

External linksEdit

  Media related to José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport at Wikimedia Commons