José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport

José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport Ecuador Aeropuerto
IATA: GYE ICAO: SEGU
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Terminal Aeroportuaria de Guayaquil S.A. (TAGSA)
Serves	Guayaquil, Ecuador
Hub for	LATAM Ecuador
Focus city for	Avianca Ecuador
Elevation AMSL	20 ft / 6.1 m
Coordinates	02°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
Website	www.tagsa.aero
Map
GYE Location in Ecuador
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 03/21 2,790 9,154 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Passenger movements 3,784,224 Domestic passengers 2,219,860 International Passengers 1,564,364
Sources: TAGSA[1] WAD[2] Google Maps[3] GCM[4]

José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo; IATA: GYE, ICAO: SEGU) is the 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.

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]

History[]

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 destinations[]

Passenger[]

Arrivals area

A KLM Boeing 777-200ER at Guayaquil

Cargo[]

Statistics[]

Busiest international routes (roundtrip) out of José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (2018)^[10]

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%	LATAM Ecuador
6		Madrid, Spain	133.062	-20,18%	Air Europa, Iberia
7	2	Fort Lauderdale, United States	118.050	130,34%	JetBlue Airways
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)^[10]

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

Accolades[]

• 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.^[11]

See also[]

• Transport in Ecuador
• List of airports in Ecuador

References[]

External links[]

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

• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport at OurAirports
• Aeronautical chart and airport information for Guayaquil/Jose J De Olmedo Airport at SkyVector
• Current weather for Guayaquil / Simon Bolivar at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for Guayaquil-Simon Bolivar Airport at Aviation Safety Network
• Autoridad Aeroportuaria de Guayaquil (in Spanish)
• Accommodations near the airport in Guayaquil (in Spanish)